Open Introduction: Is the Sermon on the Mount Still Relevant Today?

Introduction: Is the Sermon on the Mount Still Relevant Today?

Nearly 2,000 years ago on a mountainside, Jesus taught how His followers are to live. The Sermon on the Mount remains important for Christians today.

It’s probably the most famous moral teaching ever given.

Jesus Christ’s words recorded in Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7 are often called the Sermon on the Mount. Why? Because Jesus “went up on a mountain” (Matthew 5:1) to deliver this message.

The Sermon on the Mount is the most concentrated and extensive record of Jesus’ direct teaching in the entire New Testament. Its contents explain and elaborate on the most important and foundational elements of genuine Christianity.

According to John R.W. Stott, “The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the teaching of Jesus, though arguably it is the least understood, and certainly it is the least obeyed” (The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, 1973, p. 15).

The most relevant sermon ever

Jesus delivered

Open Chapter 1: The Beatitudes: Eight Keys to Blessings From God

Chapter 1: The Beatitudes: Eight Keys to Blessings From God

Jesus gave us keys, known as the Beatitudes, to being blessed by God. How can they help us experience lasting joy in our lives?

Jesus began His Sermon on the Mount listing eight spiritual traits that will lead to true happiness and to the Kingdom of God. They are:

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

4. [Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness](https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/christian-conversion/the-sermon-on-the-mount/beat

Open Chapter 2: “You Are the Salt of the Earth”

Chapter 2: “You Are the Salt of the Earth”

Jesus Christ called His disciples the salt of the earth. It’s a comment that conveys powerful lessons about how God’s people are to live their lives today.

Many of us use salt without thinking—sprinkling it on French fries, seasoning meat and eggs, bringing out the flavors in various soups and so on. We use salt with such regularity that it’s easy to forget how valuable salt has been in history. At some point the Latin word for salt, sal, became associated with the word for wages—a salarium, from which we get the word salary.

In the first century, everyone was vitally aware of the importance of salt. In that time, salt was used for preserving meats, for medicinal purposes, for seasoning foods and even as a sign of friendship. Salt was seen as a valuable commodity due to its many uses—a fact that Jesus made use of during the Sermon on the Mount.

You are the salt of the earth

After He finished the Beatitudes, Jesus told His discip

Open Chapter 3: “You Are the Light of the World”

Chapter 3: “You Are the Light of the World”

Jesus Christ told His followers, “You are the light of the world.” What exactly did He mean? How should we be lights?

After describing His disciples as “the salt of the earth,” Jesus then used another metaphor to describe them: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Just what does this series of statements regarding the visibility of light mean for us today?

What does it mean to be “the light of the world”?

The description “light of the world” conveys a responsibility that Christ places on the shoulders of His followers. Christians, who are to have the characteristics listed in the Beatitudes, are to be visible examples of His way of life to the world ar

Open Chapter 4: Jesus and the Law

Chapter 4: Jesus and the Law

What was the relationship between Jesus and the law? Did He do away with God’s 10 Commandments? Did He then give a new commandment that replaced those laws?

After describing the example He expected His servants to set, Jesus transitioned to the topic of God’s law.

Jesus understood that people could have the false impression that He, as the Messiah, was wiping the slate clean and bringing an entirely new code of conduct. Did the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of a New Covenant mean that the Old Testament laws were now abolished and irrelevant?

Jesus addressed this head-on, emphasizing He absolutely did not come to destroy the standards of conduct revealed in the Old Testament laws.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets”

Jesus Christ said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot

Open Chapter 5: “If Your Right Eye Causes You to Sin, Pluck It Out”

Chapter 5: “If Your Right Eye Causes You to Sin, Pluck It Out”

Jesus used startling statements to make a vital point—that our spiritual condition is far more important than our physical condition. Sin must be removed!

The Sermon on the Mount is full of shocking statements that went against the grain of Jesus’ society—and ours. Some of them have been repeated so many times that we might miss their full force. Focus on how these would have struck His audience:

• Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44).

• Turn the other cheek (verse 39).

• Judge not (7:1).

• “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (5:28).

Jesus expanded on the letter of the law to show the spiritual depth and intent of God’s commandments.

If your right hand causes you to sin

After giving the spirit of the law against adultery, Jesus made a surprising statement that seems to encourage self-mutilation:

“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out

Open Chapter 6: Private Worship Toward God

Chapter 6: Private Worship Toward God

How did Jesus instruct His disciples to worship God? How did this personal, private worship toward God contrast with the practices of the religious hypocrites?

In Matthew 6 Jesus stated that His disciples should do charitable deeds, pray and fast. However, they were not to do these charitable deeds or practice their religion for the purpose of impressing others.

Why would Jesus be concerned about the need to keep their practices of worship private?

Examples of hypocrisy

Three times Jesus told His disciples not to worship like the hypocrites, whose desire in worshipping God was mainly to be seen by, and receive credit from, men.

“Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matthew 6:2).

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they lov

Open Chapter 7: “And When You Pray”

Chapter 7: “And When You Pray”

People pray in many different ways. How do you pray? How did Jesus pray? What did Jesus say about prayer?

When you survey the wide variety of forms of Christianity, you find that there are many different practices and ideas about prayer. Consider:

Those who are Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox typically see prayer as the recitation of prewritten prayers. Roman Catholicism has hundreds of these prayers for people to recite in a variety of situations. Catholic and Orthodox traditions include the practice of praying to Mary, angels and saints as intercessors between God and man.

In general, the Protestant world is less liturgical about prayers. There are many different forms of praying in Protestantism—from emotional prayers spoken from the pulpits of churches to prayer groups that meet together to pray about specific issues.

There are also many people who frequently pray what is called “the Lord’s Prayer” found in Matthew 6:9-13. They believe that Jesus

Open Chapter 8: “Where Your Treasure Is”

Chapter 8: “Where Your Treasure Is”

Money can’t buy happiness, but we’d all like to find hidden treasure! Yet what do you value most? Jesus said where your treasure is, there your heart will be.

Shortly after sharing the model prayer, Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). To understand how this applies in our lives, it can be helpful to think about the whole concept of treasure—what we value most in life.

It’s fascinating to read about treasures, lost and found.

Hidden treasure in England

In November of 1992, a farmer near Suffolk, England, lost a hammer. He thought he had lost it somewhere in the fields of his farm; so after an unsuccessful search, he asked a friend who owned a metal detector for some help.

The search with the metal detector uncovered some silver tableware—and some ancient coins. They notified the authorities, and an archaeological team came in to excavate the site.

When the excavation was complete, near

Open Chapter 9: “Do Not Worry About Your Life”

Chapter 9: “Do Not Worry About Your Life”

How could Jesus Christ expect His disciples not to worry? Word pictures in His Sermon on the Mount help us understand a source of worry—and the solution.

Jesus walked and taught in the turbulent and dangerous first-century world controlled by the powerful—and often ruthless—Roman Empire.

And yet, in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, He instructed the multitudes to stop worrying: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25).

He continued to elaborate on this point in verses 26-34.

How could Jesus expect the crowd of listeners, many of whom were poor, to live without worrying about physical things?

The answer lies in the metaphors He used leading up to the discussion of worry.

Treasures in heaven

The first metaphor Jesus used distinguished between two type

Open Chapter 10: “Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged”

Chapter 10: “Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged”

Jesus said, “Judge not.” Did He mean we are never to judge others? Is it wrong to discern that someone’s conduct is sinful? How should we judge?

“Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1).

These are some of Jesus’ most well-known and often-quoted words. People often use these words to shield themselves from judgment or to avoid making a judgment on something uncomfortable.

But what did Jesus mean when He said, “Judge not”? Did He condemn all human judgment?

Remove the log from your eye

One of the basic rules of Bible study is to consider a verse in its context. Consider the context of Matthew 7:1.

In verses 3-5, Jesus used a powerful (and somewhat humorous) analogy of a person with a huge beam of wood in his eye hypocritically trying to remove a tiny speck from someone else’s eye.

Jesus said, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank [a wooden beam or log] in your own

Open Chapter 11: The Golden Rule, or “Do Unto Others”

Chapter 11: The Golden Rule, or “Do Unto Others”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Following the Golden Rule will improve our relationships with others and with God.

Jesus spoke what has become known as the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12. Although the exact wording is slightly different, the paraphrase of it—“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”—captures the essence of Jesus’ teaching. The foundation for this instruction actually begins in the context of verse 7, which says we can go to God for our needs and receive help from Him: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

The next few verses elaborate on this thought. Just as a caring human father gives good gifts to his children, so, too, God gives good things to those who ask Him (verses 9-11).

Verse 12 then concludes the thought: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

The word *th

Open Chapter 12: “Narrow Is the Gate”

Chapter 12: “Narrow Is the Gate”

Jesus said to “enter by the narrow gate” if we’re seeking life. Why did He seemingly discourage people from becoming Christians? What makes the gate so narrow?

At the beginning of His ministry, thousands of disciples chased after Jesus Christ as they would a celebrity—but after His death, that number had dwindled to only a few hundred (Acts 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:6).

These disciples quickly learned that being a Christian was no walk in the park. Following in the footsteps of our Savior means more than just giving your heart to the Lord—it often means making difficult choices and doing difficult things.

Jesus warned His disciples about that while He was still alive. He told them, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

**The narrow gate

Open Chapter 13: “By Their Fruits”

Chapter 13: “By Their Fruits”

“One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.” Christ’s followers must bear good fruit. They are also to know false teachers “by their fruits”—discerning bad fruit.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed His disciples about the importance of bearing good fruit. He also talked about the need for them to recognize the type of people they were dealing with by evaluating the type of fruit those people bear.

He simplified the concept by explaining: “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18).

In an orchard, there might be some trees that are not fully good or fully bad, but in Jesus’ analogy, there are only two kinds of spiritual trees. Even though a spiritually bad tree might look healthy and good, the end result—its fruit—is always bad.

He went on to explain that not bearing any fruit is not an option: “Every tree that does not bear g

Open Chapter 14: Build on the Rock

Chapter 14: Build on the Rock

Foundations help protect our physical homes from disaster. What’s our life built on? We must build on the Rock to have protection from spiritual disaster.

Jesus Christ often illustrated His teachings with parables. Some of them seem easy to grasp, but others hide a deeper meaning.

The parable of two builders (found in Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:47-49) is an easy-to-understand story that summarizes some of the lessons Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount. It has also been called the parable of the wise and foolish builders and the parable of the house on the rock.

Drawing on His experience in carpentry and His knowledge of sound construction, Jesus demonstrated the importance of a proper foundation.

The parable of the two builders

Jesus described two men who each built a house. He didn’t mention any difference between their skills and resources. The only variable He identified was where each chose to build. Jesus noted that, based on their choi