Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a foundational discourse attributed to Jesus Christ, found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters five through seven. This sermon is renowned for its profound teachings and is considered one of the most significant sermons in religious history, influencing both Christian doctrine and broader ethical discussions. It encompasses key principles such as the Beatitudes, which highlight the blessings bestowed upon those who may appear disadvantaged by societal standards, and emphasizes the moral responsibilities of Jesus' followers by likening them to salt and light.
In this address, Jesus interprets and expands upon Jewish laws, offering a deeper understanding of moral behavior that challenges complacency among his listeners. The sermon also outlines practices related to prayer, fasting, and generosity, encouraging believers to trust in divine provision while warning against anxiety. Notably, Jesus asserts his authority through direct statements, distinguishing his teachings from those of contemporary religious leaders by not relying on external sources for validation.
The Sermon on the Mount remains vital for Christians today, providing guidelines for ethical living and interpersonal conduct. Its themes resonate beyond Christianity, inviting reflection on values such as compassion, justice, and humility in various cultural contexts.
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Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount refers to an address given by Jesus Christ early in his public ministry. It is recounted in the Bible in chapters five through seven of the Gospel of Matthew and includes a number of Christ's teachings. It includes a series of explanations of Old Testament teachings delivered in a manner scholars say was intended to indicate Christ was the fulfillment of these teachings, and it offers guidelines his followers could use to reach heaven after death. The Sermon on the Mount is often considered the most esteemed sermon of all time and is thought to have relevance even for those who are not Christians.
Background
The Christian Bible includes two major parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament includes information from the beginning of time until about 400 BCE. It presents the history of the Jewish people and is essentially the same as the Jewish Bible. The New Testament begins with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ beginning around 1 CE. It includes the writings and acts of the earliest Christians. The known details of the life and ministry of Jesus are largely recounted in four Gospel accounts usually attributed to four of Christ's disciples and known as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The Sermon on the Mount is included in the Gospel of Matthew. The authorship of this book has been attributed to Jesus's apostle of the same name, although some scholars believe that careful analysis of the text indicates it was written at least a few centuries later than Matthew lived. The text was originally written in Greek and intended for a Jewish audience. Scholars based this assumption on the large numbers of references to Jewish teachings it includes. The sermon itself includes many references to and explanations of the Jewish holy texts.
Although a church in the Holy Land claims to be set near the site where the sermon was delivered, the exact location is unknown. The Bible reports Christ and his disciples were gathered on a mountain near the town of Capernaum on the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret but gives no details that can conclusively identify the precise spot. However, locations near this area have features that effectively create natural amphitheaters and amplify voices, making them good settings for delivering speeches or sermons to large crowds.
Overview
The Sermon on the Mount is one of five longer addresses by Jesus Christ recorded in Matthew's Gospel. It was first referred to as the Sermon on the Mount in the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo around the year 392 CE. Scholars are divided on whether the sermon was the result of one single teaching session or a collection of Christ's teachings delivered over a period of time. Those who believe it is a collection think it unlikely that it would have been remembered with such completeness if it was all heard at one time, while others think the apostles found it so important and meaningful that they took special efforts to recall it until it was recorded.
The sermon is divided into several specific sections. After a brief introduction, Christ lists eight specific types of people who seem to be at a disadvantage from the world's perspective and explains why they are blessed by God. These eight statements are called the Beatitudes; beatitude means a blessing or bestowing of happiness and good fortune. Christians believe these show that the ways of God are different than the ways of humans, and that the things people see as troubles can be changed to blessings by God.
Next, Christ compared his followers to salt and light. In comparing his followers to salt and light, Christ emphasized that just as salt could flavor an entire food source and light could chase away darkness, Christians could have significant influence on the world. Christ then made a statement validating the Jewish laws that his listeners and he himself followed, and stated that he had come to fulfill those teachings, not change or end them.
This is followed by a series of six statements that scholars call antitheses, or statements that use strong opposites to make a point. In these statements, Christ takes a law as it has been given and expands on it. For example, the Jewish texts prohibited murder. Christ expands this to say that these laws also prohibited anger. Scholars point out that this challenged the self-righteous or complacent who thought they were obedient to God's laws; they may never have killed anyone, but everyone gets angry from time to time. The antitheses also include some instructions on how to correct the shortcomings identified by Christ's expanded interpretation of the texts.
The next section of the sermon includes guidelines on how to honor God through practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It also includes encouragement for the believer to trust in God's provision and avoid anxiety. The sermon ends with warnings about the fate of those who fail to follow these guidelines.
The sermon was significant to its listeners because Christ was teaching with great authority. For instance, he did not quote another source in making his declarations about the consequences of being angry with someone as other teachers of the time usually did to make their points. Instead, Christ said, "But I say..." and expanded on God's teachings as recorded in Scripture. This asserted his place as the Son of God and led his apostles and others who heard the sermon at the time to be "amazed," according to the Bible. In contemporary times, Christians still consider the Sermon on the Mount to be an authoritative teaching on how Christians should act toward one another and toward God.
The content of the sermon is similar to a section of the Gospel of Luke that is often referred to as the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20–49). The Sermon on the Plain was said to have been delivered at the base of a mountain, and is shorter than the Sermon on the Mount. It includes a number of the same points made in the Sermon on the Mount but uses different phrasing. This has led to differing academic opinions on whether the two sermons represent different perspectives of the same address by Christ or were two separate lessons delivered at different times.
Bibliography
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Miller, Russell Benjamin. "The Sermon on the Plain." Bible Tools, www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sermon-on-the-plain-the/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2018.
"Sermon on the Mount." Episcopal Church, www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/sermon-mount. Accessed 13 Jan. 2018.
"Sermon on the Mount." Oxford Biblical Studies Online, www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1725. Accessed 13 Jan. 2018.
"Sermon on the Mount Location." IsraelJerusalem, www.israeljerusalem.com/sermon-on-the-mount-location.htm, Accessed 13 Jan. 2018.
Slick, Matt. "What Is the Sermon on the Mount?" Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, carm.org/what-is-the-sermon-on-the-mount. Accessed 13 Jan. 2018.
Ward, Mark. "The Twist on the Sermon on the Mount That You Probably Missed." LogosTalk, 23 Aug. 2017, blog.logos.com/2017/08/twist-sermon-mount-probably-missed/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2018.