The Flow of the Sermon on the Mount

I’ve read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) many times in the past, but I generally read it in smaller chunks than we read today in the Bible Reading Plan. In my Bible, the translators have put in 9 section headings between chapter 5 verse 17 and chapter 6 verse 15. I’ve probably read it in 2 or 3 chunks at a time in the past.

Reading it today in a larger section made the flow of Jesus’ argument stand out much more than I’d ever noticed before.

He begins in chapter 5 verse 17 by stating that He has come to fulfill rather than abolish the law, and by warning that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt 5:20). He then makes 6 statements about the correct understanding of the law by contrasting it with the teaching of the day (“you have heard it said…”).

He follows this with 3 admonitions against practicing our righteousness for men to see, with specific instructions about giving, prayer, and (in tomorrow’s reading) fasting.

Why does Jesus say all of this? What is the point of his argument? They keys are in Matt 5:16 and Matt 5:46-48.

In verse 16, He tells us that our light should shine before others so that they will give glory to your Father who is in heaven. The point of everything in our lives is to give glory to God, and even our “righteous deeds” should point not to us, but to the Father. That is why practicing our righteousness in order to be seen is wrong – the goal is not that people see us and think well of us.

Verses 46-48 provide the other key. Our love is to unlike everyone else’s love – we love those who don’t love us. Each of the 6 statements about the law takes the requirement beyond what would normally be expected, for example from deeds to thoughts. We are told that we must be perfect as the Father is perfect.
Peter, who heard Jesus teach this, summarized it this way:

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1Peter 2:12)

We glorify God by living transformed lives that show His glorious holiness to those around us.

Posted by David Fenton on May 18, 09:18 AM