Sermon On The Mount
SERMON ON THE MOUNT 5-7
Introduction to the teacher (4:23-5:2)
I. Public Routine
A. His Heralding (vs. 23)
1. Gospel of the Kingdom
B. His Healing (vs. 23)
1. Among the People
2. All manner of sickness
3. All manner of Disease
II. Public Regard (vs. 24-25)
A. His Fame (vs. 24)
1. Went throughout all Syria
2. They brought. . .
B. His Following (vs.25)
1. Great multitudes (Pl) of people
2. Galilee, Deco polis, Jerusalem, Judea, beyond Jordan
Having seen the savior in his initial ministry of preaching and healing lives, the momentum of his person leads a seeking, starving, and shepherd less multitude to his provision. Our lord demonstrates his wisdom even in the simple things of location to effectively talk and teach these masses. He begins with foundational sayings that foster a mind for an upcoming amplified explanation of what they have heard all their lives but will now have exposed to them.
I. Prudent Location (vs. 5:1)
A. Seeing the Multitude
B. Sitting in the Mountain
II. Primary Lessons (5:2- 5:12)
A. Foundational Sayings
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . (vs. 3)
2. Blessed are they that mourn . . . (vs. 4)
3. Blessed are the meek . . . (vs. 5)
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst . . . (vs. 6)
5. Blessed are the merciful . . . (vs. 7)
6. Blessed are the pure in heart . . . (vs. 8)
7. Blessed are the peacemakers . . . (vs. 9)
8. Blessed are they that have been persecuted . . . (vs. 10)
9. Blessed are you when men shall reproach you . . . (vs. 11)
B. Faithful Security (5:12)
1. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad . . .
2. Reward for faithfulness
III. A Distinct People (5:13- 5:16)
A. Salt of the Earth (vs. 13)
1. The savor of salt
2. The status of the salt
B. Light of the World (vs. 14-16)
1. City set on hill
2. The hidden lamp
3. The shining light
4. The glory of the light
IV. A Distinct Purpose (5:17- 5:20)
A. Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Scripture (vs. 17)
1. He didn’t come to destroy them.
2. He did come to declare them through His life.
B. Jesus is faithful to the Old Testament Scripture (vs. 17)
1. Consideration to the details of the law
2. Commitment to the destiny of the law
C. Jesus forbids the breaking of Old Testament Scripture (vs. 18-20)
1. Kingdom status is connected to observation and obedience of the law
2. Kingdom stature is connect to observation and obedience of the law
The Repeated use of Kingdom gives us an easy transition into the demands of the law as they were intended by God and now rehearsed and explained by the messiah. The flow of information begins with our discourse of five familiar points of the law with the amplified authority of the king of kings. We are given a glimpse of the practice demanded by the king over His provincial rule.
The Provincial Practice and Amplified Authority (5:21- 5:26)
I. The Amplified Authority of Christ on Anger. (5:21-26)
A. Thou shalt not kill; but I say unto you (vs. 21)
1. They had heard and interpretation of the Law of Moses.
2. They had heard the penalty of the Law of Moses.
3. Jesus gives the true teaching of the Law.
B. The danger of anger (vs. 22)
1. It can destroy you relationships with your brother.
2. It can destroy you reverence toward your God.
C. The duty of the audience (vs. 23-24)
1. Seek forgiveness.
2. Seek reconciliation before your worship.
D. The point is illustrated and applied (vs. 25-26)
1. The aught with the adversary
2. The action of the adversary
3. The application of the lesson is reconcile before you stand before your ruler.
II. The Amplified Authority of Christ on Adultery (5:27-5:32)
A. Thou shalt not commit adultery but I say unto you (vs. 27)
1. Adultery carried punishment with it as well as anger.
2. Jesus doesn’t deal with what as been explained to them but rather what should be exercised.
B. The danger of adultery
1. Adultery was punished with death (Ex. 20:14; Lev. 20:10; Dt. 22:22-27)
2. The guilt of gazing.
3. The mismanagement of the mind can lead to heart trouble.
C. The duty of the audience (vs. 28)
1. Jesus deals first with the focus of the individual. LOOKETH
2. Jesus deals secondly with the following of enticement. TO LUST
D. The point illustrated and applied (vs. 29-32)
1. The personification of offense.
2. The cause to stumble
3. The choice to severe
4. The profit of pruning
III. The Amplified Authority of Christ on Swearing, Oaths (5:33-5: 37)
A. You have heard but I say unto you (vs. 33-34)
1. They had heard performance of an oath.
2. Jesus gives and understanding of the Law.
B. The danger of swearing
1. The perjury of swearing falsely
2. The penalty of swearing falsely
C. The duty of the audience (vs. 34-37)
1. Don’t swear at all (vs. 34)
2. Make no solemn promises to God
3. Don’t swear by the heavens (vs. 34)
4. Don’t swear by the earth (vs. 35)
5. Don’t swear by Jerusalem (vs. 35)
6. Don’t swear by your own head (vs. 36)
D. The application of the audience (vs. 36-37)
1. Have the right understanding of what God can do (vs. 36)
2. Have the right understanding of what we should say (vs. 37)
IV. The Amplified Authority of Christ on Retaliation, Revenge (5:38-42)
A. You have heard but I say unto you (vs. 38-39)
1. The Law of Moses taught returning of sword for sword
2. An eye for an eye
3. A tooth for a tooth
B. But I say resist not, return not, and rebel not (vs. 39)
1. Don’t resist the man that is evil (vs. 39)
2. Don’t return blows for blows (vs. 39)
3. Don’t rebel against any man that would go to the law with you (vs. 40)
4. Whoever would compel you to go one mile (vs. 41)
C. Applied teaching (vs. 42)
1. Give to the person that asks of you
2. Go to that person that would borrow from you rather than turn away from him.
V. The Amplified Authority of Christ on Loving and Loathing (vs. 5:43-48)
A. You have heard that it was said (vs. 43)
1. Love your neighbor
2. Hate your enemy
B. But I say unto you, “Just Love” (vs. 44)
1. Love your enemies
2. Pray for your persecutors. (the cross of Christ)
C. Act like the Sons of God you Father (vs. 45-48)
1. Heavenly position (vs. 45)
2. Heavenly practice (vs. 45b)
a. Makes the sun rise on the evil and good
b. Makes the rain fall on the just and unjust
3. Heavenly Perspective à be perfect (vs. 46-47)
a. Love the unlovable
b. Fellowship the unfaithful
4. Heavenly Perfection (vs. 48)
a. See the nature of God.
b. Practice the nature of God.
The thought of the message takes an interesting turn or transition from reminding the audience of what had been given to them and with that reminder the amplified authority of Christ on these teachings. We now move to an amplified application of righteousness. The rule for righteousness was that that life of righteousness be for the glory of God and not personal, vain glory.
Rules for the Righteous lifestyle (6:1 – 6:24)
I. Rules for Righteousness concerning “Alms” (vs. 6:1-4)
A. Take heed (vs. 1)
1. Honest intent and not for vain glory
2. Honored effort for personal worship
B. Hypocritical Intent of the Alms (vs. 1-2)
1. Sounding of trumpets not allowed
2. Synagogue and streets, hypocrisy
3. Seen of men, vain glory
4. Sad truth of Empty Efforts
C. Heavenly Instruction for the Alms (vs. 3-4)
1. Secret Action
2. Secret Acknowledgement
II. Rules for Righteousness concerning “Prayer” (vs. 6:5)
A. When you pray: Motive (vs. 5)
1. The practice of prayer (vs. 5)
2. The place of prayer (vs. 6)
a. Choice chamber (inner)
b. Concealed chamber (shut)
c. Calling in the chamber (secret)
d. Communication in the chamber (recompense)
3. The point of prayer (vs. 7-8)
a. Not vain repetition (like those who don’t know God)
b. Not vain regard (heard from much speaking)
c. Not vain request (as if God is not omniscient)
B. When you pray: Manner (vs. 9)
1. Our Father who art in Heaven (vs. 9)
2. Hallowed be Thy Name (vs. 9)
3. Thy Kingdom Come (vs. 10)
4. Thy Will be done (vs. 10)
a. As in heaven
b. So on earth
5. Give us this day our daily bread (vs. 11)
6. Forgive us our debts (vs. 12)
a. The Condition of Forgiveness
b. The Consequences of Forgiveness
7. Bring us not into temptation (vs. 13)
III. Rules for Righteousness concerning “Fasting” (vs. 6:16-18)
A. When you fast (vs. 16)
1. Implied action of fasting
2. Instruction for times of fasting
B. The disposition of hypocritical fasting (vs. 16)
1. Sad countenance
2. Disfigured face
3. To be seen of men
C. The disposition of holy fasting (vs. 17-18)
1. Anoint your head (vs. 17)
2. Wash your face (vs. 17)
3. Don’t be seen as fasting (vs. 18)
4. Secret action (vs. 18)
5. Secret acknowledgement (vs. 18)
IV. Rules for Righteousness concerning “Treasure” (vs. 6:19-21)
A. The damageable location of treasure (vs. 19)
1. Upon the earth
a. Moth consume
b. Rust consumes
c. Thieves break through
d. Thieves steal
B. The divine location of the treasure (vs. 20)
1. In Heaven
2. Untouchable, unaffected, untainted by:
a. Moths consuming
b. Rust consuming
c. Thieves breaking through
d. Thieves Stealing
C. The Defined Location of the treasure (vs. 21)
1. Where it (treasure) is, it is always accompanied
2. Your heart will be also:
a. Upon the earth
b. In heaven
V. Rules for Righteousness concerning “The Lamp of the Body” (6:22-6:24)
A. The lamp of the body is the eye (vs. 22)
B. The production of a “single eye” (vs. 22)
1. The simple state
2. The sound status
C. The production of an “evil eye” (vs. 23)
1. Defiled by darkness
2. Destruction of darkness (how great)
3. Design of darkness (service)
D. True service comes from a single focus (vs. 24)
1. We cannot serve God and mammon
2. Indication of a problem
Righteous Living takes the worry out of you world (6:25-7:12)
I. Taking the worry out of your world (6:25-6:34)
A. Because of what has been prescribed before, listen to the instructions that are coming. (vs. 25)
B. Don’t worry about anything. (vs. 25)
1. Anxious
2. Your life
C. Don’t worry about the Commodities of Life. (vs. 25)
1. What you shall eat
2. What you shall drink
3. Life is defined by more that commodities
D. Don’t worry about the coverings of life. (vs. 25)
1. What you shall put on
2. Life is more than that and body is more that raiment.
E. The lesson illustrated and applied. (vs. 26-30)
1. Look at the birds of the heaven. (vs. 26)
a. They sow not.
b. Neither do they reap
c. Nor gather into barns
d. But the father feeds them
2. Consider your value.
a. More valuable that the birds
b. Your father cares for you
3. Consider the lilies of the field. (vs. 28)
a. How they grow
b. They don’t toil
c. They don’t spin
d. Yet they have splendor
4. Consider your value in comparison (vs. 26, 30)
a. God cares for the temporal plants
b. God cares more for the soul, spirit, and physical status of man.
F. Question about anxiety (vs. 27-28)
1. Can anxiety add to you life? (vs. 27)
2. Why worry about what you will wear? (vs. 28)
3. How valuable are you to God? (vs. 26)
G. Application of the lesson
1. Practice Faithfulness (vs. 31-32)
a. Don’t worry about a thing! (vs. 31)
b. Don’t waste devotion that could be given to God. (vs. 32)
II. The Antidote for Anxiety, “Be a Seeker” (vs. 33-34)
A. First, seek the Kingdom (vs. 33)
B. First, seek His Righteousness (vs. 33)
1. Give energy to these things
2. Give concern to these things
3. Give purpose to these things
4. Be directed to these things
C. When you seek Him, God will add to you. (vs. 33b)
1. Your life (food and drink)
2. Your body (raiment)
3. “These things”
D. Application of the command (vs. 34)
1. Don’t worry
2. The morrow will worry for itself
3. The amount is sufficient!
4. You remain single mindedly, wholeheartedly, focused and trusting in God.
III. Judge and Be Judged “Hypocrite” (7:1 – 7:5)
A. Judge not, that you be not judged (vs. 1)
B. The judgment used is the judgment that will be used. (vs. 2)
C. The measurement you use will be the measurement given to you (vs. 2)
D. Why examine other without first examining yourself. (vs. 3-4)
1. Brother let me help you with your eye (mote)
2. You have a beam in you own eye.
E. That is an examination of hypocrisy. (vs. 5)
F. Application: (vs. 5-6)
1. First examine yourself and see your fault, and failure.
2. Second, then you will clearly see your brother in order to help cast the mote out of his eye.
3. Appreciated judgment is Holy Judgment of one who has examined his own life first and examines as one who clearly sees rather then the broken trying to indict the broken.
IV. Judge and be Judged “Habits” (7:12)
A. Therefore makes connection to the preceding thoughts and teachings.
B. In all things, all matters of judgment.
C. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
1. Rule of the Law of God
2. The Law and the prophets
3. Mt. 22 - Love hangs on these
V. The promise of purposeful prayer. (7:7-12)
A. God is the giver of good gifts when his children make purposeful request. (vs. 11)
B. Ask and it shall be given (vs. 7)
C. Seek and you shall find (vs. 7)
D. Knock and it shall be opened to you. (vs. 7)
E. Repeated emphasis on His willingness to care for everyone that willingly request. (vs. 8)
F. Comparative illustration of evil man verses a good God. (vs. 9-10)
Straight is the way; Search for the truth and; Secure for yourself the life. (7:13-23)
I. The Gate That Is Straight (7:13-14)
A. The easy is not the Lord’s way.
B. The commanded entrance (vs. 13)
1. Its description (vs. 14)
a. Narrow Gate
b. Straitened way
2. Its destiny (vs. 14)
a. Leads to life
b. Few find it
3. Its diligence (vs. 14)
a. Commanded to enter
b. You must find it.
C. Contrasted path (vs. 13)
1. Its description (vs. 13)
a. Wide is the way
b. Broad is the way
2. Its destiny (vs. 13)
a. Leads to destruction
b. Many enter the path
3. Its diligence (vs. 13)
a. Not commanded
b. Many enter thereby
II. Beware of the false prophets (vs. 15-20)
A. Warned to watch for them- beware (vs. 15)
B. Defining the false prophet (vs.15)
1. You shall know the False prophet (vs. 16, 20)
a. By their fruit
b. All fruit is not good fruit
2. Motive of the prophet (vs. 15, 18)
a. Ravenous
b. Corrupt
3. Fate of the false prophet (vs. 19)
a. Hewn down
b. Cast into the fire
C. Deception of the false prophet (vs. 15)
1. Openly comes to you.
2. Dressed in innocence
3. Inwardly are ravening wolves
4. Character of a wolf
D. Examine the tree to know the fruit (vs. 17)
1. Good trees have good fruit
2. Corrupt trees have corrupt, evil fruit
3. Good cannot bear evil
4. Evil cannot bear good fruit.
E. Fate of the tree is illustrative of the fate of the prophet. (vs. 19)
1. Implied stand of goop prophets
2. Damnable fate of evil tree
3. Hewn down
4. Cast into fire
F. By a trees fruit and fate it is known to be good or evil, true or false. (vs. 20)
1. In it’s life, the fruit
2. In it’s death, cutting and casting
III. Who will enter The Kingdom? (7:21–23)
A. Its exclusive nature (vs. 21)
1. Not everyone who recognizes Jesus as Lord. (vs. 21)
2. Not Everyone who regards their actions as being for the Lord. (vs. 22)
a. Prophesy by thy name
b. Cast out devils by thy name
c. Wonderful works by thy name
B. Its inclusive nature (vs. 21)
1. He that doeth the will of the father
2. The will is above all the earth.
C. Its eternal nature (vs. 22-23)
1. In that day, of reckoning and reward
2. Many will say
3. I will profess
a. I never knew you
b. Depart from me