Good morning. Once again, we're gathered here together on the Lord's Day to bring God the glory that only God deserves. We're here because God has graciously given us His Son. And now we have the privilege of being called the very children of God. What a great blessing that is. What a blessing it is to have been adopted into the family of God. And we're here because we find the Word of God, I hope, to be astonishing. In fact, when Jesus finished preaching the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew records the crowd's reaction by saying that they were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority. May we too be astonished by the power and authority that comes from the only King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Would you pray with me once again for the Lord's blessing on this message? Dear Heavenly Father, as with every Lord's Day and every day, Lord, we need to hear from you. We need that you would speak your words into our hearts, that your Holy Spirit would plant your word deep into our hearts and minds. Lord, we are slow to learn, Lord, slow to act upon the words that we do learn. Would You help us to do that today, Lord? Would You show us the glory of Your Son and the glory of Your words? We ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen. Our brother Sean read the first half of the Sermon on the Mount. And in the second half, if you stay here, he's going to read the second half of the Sermon on the Mount. You can say that you came to church today and heard the greatest sermon ever preached. But it was by Jesus and certainly not by me. And so both messages today are going to be an introduction or an overview on the Sermon on the Mount. I seem to always be called back into the book of Matthew. I don't know what it is. I'm just always attracted to this book. I was wondering why. I was trying to think, why am I so attracted to this gospel of Matthew? I think like Romans, these are the two greatest books that connect the Old Testament with the New Testament. They talk about what the Old Testament was all about. And it brings that into the New Testament. We see the types and shadows and figures of the Old Testament in the book of Romans, in the book of Matthew, and how those come to fruition in the New Testament. Probably better than any other books in Scripture. So I think that's one of the reasons why I'm drawn back. I really feel that God is just calling me to stay in the book of Matthew for some time. And I like that. So this, of course, the Sermon on the Mount covers chapters 5 through 7 of the Gospel of Matthew. And as the Lord's will, I want to continue preaching from the Sermon on the Mount, starting with the Beatitudes in chapter 5. So a brief look at the background. background and content of the Sermon on the Mount is going to set the stages for future messages. There's always a challenge to preaching an introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, first, there's a challenge to preaching the Sermon on the Mount. How do you preach a sermon on the Sermon on the Mount? Well, you don't do that adequately, and nobody has ever done that, and I'm not going to be doing that today. But this jar of clay is going to give the best attempt I can. to do just that. But there is, there's always a danger in an introduction or overview of a book or a section of scripture. There's a danger of making it sound like a dry classroom lecture that puts people to sleep. And I hope that I have not done that today. So I've tried not to get bogged down in much detail. I've tried to make it rather moving and fast paced. I've sprinkled it in with applications and observations being made along the way. So I hope I can keep your attention focused upon this. I want to start by looking at the contents, just a brief look at the contents of the Sermon on the Mount. Some portions of scripture are said to be didactic or doctrinal, that is they They teach certain spiritual truths. And some sections of Scripture are really marked. You can see they're very doctrinal. We think of those first 11 chapters of the Book of Romans, the doctrinal, the teaching that teach much about salvation and Israel and God and so on, election, predestination. And then chapters 12 through 16 of Romans, we see how those things are applied to our lives, those spiritual truths are being applied. And so Didactic or doctrinal teaching teaches us much about God and about ourselves. And there are other portions, again, of scripture that are thought to be or classified as more of application. And they apply these spiritual truths to daily living, as I said. There is an inseparable bond, though, of the knowing. and the doing. You can't separate these things. You can't separate the teaching and knowing doctrinal truths with applying those in your life. It's simply not a possibility. People who try to do that really do not have the whole gospel. So there's an inseparable bond here and James says it well in James 1.22. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. But we seldom, if ever, read sections of Scripture that are all doctrinal or all application. I don't think that that really exists. There's always going to be some kind of overlap between the knowing and the doing. Jesus teaches us many spiritual truths, many doctrinal truths in the Sermon on the Mount. He wants us to know things. He wants us to know that God is perfect. He wants us to know that God has a kingdom. That God is omniscient. That is, that He is all-knowing. He sees the very motivations of your heart and of my heart. God is providential. That is, He is active in His creation. He governs His creation. It's God who sends the rain and causes the sun to rise on both the good and the wicked. God is good. God is good. He gives good things to both believers and unbelievers. God is a righteous judge. And also it teaches that God's law has not been abolished. These are all great, wonderful doctrinal truths that we need to know and that we learn as we read the Sermon on the Mount. There's a real place of punishment called hell. There is a narrow gate that leads to life and a broad gate that leads to destruction. And that salvation comes only to those who truly know Christ as their Lord, not just simply as their Savior. And then on the last day, many who claim Christ as their Lord sadly will perish. Many. That's one of the scariest words of that passage is the word many. Not some, not a few, not a handful. Many are going to be in that last day thinking that Christ was my savior, and yet he never ruled and reigned in their hearts. Christ sets forth their lawlessness as evidence that they never knew him. And that's one of the reasons why the law has never been abolished. People will be judged by the law and not keeping the law would be evidence that a work of grace had never been done in someone's heart. We also learn the character of those who are true citizens of the kingdom. They are humble, they hunger and thirst after righteousness, they are merciful, they are pure in heart, and they are peacemakers. And all of these terms can only be used of true believers. Now, this isn't talking about people who are naturally humble or merciful, that sort of thing. These attributes and qualities are only for those who truly know their sins before God. who knows that God is holy and they are not. So this is reserved only for the true people of God. But, mostly, the Sermon on the Mount is application. That is the main content of the Sermon on the Mount, is that it is application. It instructs its citizens how to conduct themselves in God's kingdom. We are to be salt and light in the world. We are to teach and obey God's commands. Be angry with your brother. If you are angry with your brother, it's going to hinder your relationship with God. So seek to be reconciled to him. If possible, remove any obstacles in your life that would lead you to committing adultery or any other sin. There's grounds for divorce, the taking of oaths, not taking revenge, loving your enemies, not practicing righteousness to be seen by others such as giving to the needy, praying, or fasting, or giving instructions on what prayer should look like. We are shown the wisdom of storing treasures in heaven and the impossibility of having both God and money as our master. We're taught not to be anxious. Since God knows our needs, everything we need, we are free now to seek his kingdom and his righteousness. There is a way to judge wrongly. and there is a way to judge rightly. Avoid giving holy things to those who violently oppose God. Never stop asking God for good things. God loves to give. Treat others the same way that you would want to be treated. Though the narrow gate is difficult, we must enter into it because it leads to life. The way to discover false teachers is to look at the fruit that they produce. A bad tree bears bad fruit. Make certain that you truly know the Lord. Those who hear and obey Christ's words are like people who have built their house upon a solid rock. When the day of destruction comes, their house will remain standing. The Sermon on the Mount, in short, is kingdom living. It is how to live in God's kingdom. It's the instructions on how to be citizens. If you and I were to move to another country, we would seek to know the laws of that land. We would not want to be getting tickets, and we certainly don't want to be driving on the wrong side of the road. We would want to know the rules and the laws of that nation that we are now moving to. In other words, we want to know what it is to qualify to be citizens of that nation. The same as the Sermon on the Mount describes what citizens of God's kingdom are to look like. In fact, what they do look like and how they need to progress as citizens. Lord willing, I hope to expound on these teachings in the future. But for now, we begin with the preparation of the Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus sat down and opened His mouth to speak, everything was as it should be. The right teacher spoke just the right words at just the right time and in just the right exact place. The preparation for Jesus' ministry in general, it extends all the way back. to Genesis. You remember that back in Genesis chapter 3, the Messiah would be the seed of the woman who would crush Satan? And He did that, didn't He? He did that when He accomplished that on the cross. We don't see the full results of that now, but when Christ returns, we'll see the full extent of that victory that He accomplished on the cross. So it starts way back there in Genesis. The Old Testament tells us that the one that we are to look for would be a priest like Melchizedek, a prophet like Moses, and a king like David. Christ's ministry was foretold some 800 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah. while sitting in his hometown synagogue. And by the way, that passage is Isaiah 61 verses 1 and 2. But while sitting in his hometown synagogue there in Nazareth, we find Jesus quoting that Isaiah passage in Luke 4.18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Imagine those sitting around him. And they knew him well, of course. This was his hometown. What stunning words to be hearing from somebody who grew up perhaps with them. Well, to erase any doubts in their minds as to who this prophecy was being spoken about, he goes on today to say, today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. So there's no doubt what Jesus is telling them. He was the one that was to come and proclaim the Lord's favor, to preach to the poor, to heal the blind and the oppressed. He says, I am that very person. And of course, what did they say? Wait a second. You didn't come from God. You came from Nazareth. You came from here. We know you. We grew up with you. Come on. You're saying that you're the one that's been prophesied for all these years. We know who you are. We know that. So John the Baptist continues to prepare the way for Christ. He was that forerunner of Christ as prophesied in Isaiah 40 verse 3. Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And John baptized many in the Jordan River and he warns them and he commands them, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And why does he do that? Why is he saying repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand? He gives him that reason why in Matthew 3, 11 and 12. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. God is preparing the way for the Messiah. This is the preparation. And you notice in here the ministry of Christ. Indeed, he came to preach the gospel to the poor, but he also preached a message of separation. In his ministry, he was separating the wheat from the chaff. And this is exactly what he's doing. He's gathering his wheat into his barn, but the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire. What does that mean that he is separating the wheat from the chaff? Well, in our kingdom message here, in the Sermon on the Mount, it's really saying there's people who are going to be in God's kingdom, and there's people who are going to be in the kingdom of darkness. Those who have believed and trusted in Christ have been immediately transferred into the kingdom of His Son. But the rest will remain in that old kingdom. That old kingdom of darkness. So Jesus' ministry, along with preaching the gospel, was a ministry of separation. We recall this too. He said, think that I have come to bring peace to the world? No, I've come to bring a sword to separate household members, one against the other. So He did come to bring peace. He came to show the year of the Lord's favor and so on. It was also a ministry of separation. It was time to enter into the Kingdom of God. Now was the time and now was that opportunity. Well, the stage was almost set. But before Jesus preached in Galilee, He ministered to the south in Judea. Both Jesus and John ministered near the River Jordan in the capital city there of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was to Judaism what Rome is to Roman Catholicism. It was the center of power. Jerusalem was home of the temple. Here was the Sanhedrin. Here were the spiritually elite. We have the priests and the scribes, the lawyers, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. We could say that these were the who's who of Jewish culture. This was the place to be for moving up in Jewish culture. The Gospel of John, we see that Jesus made some disciples in Judea. He turned water into wine. He drove money changers from the temple with a whip. He taught Nicodemus about the new birth. He brought a Samaritan woman to repentance, and he healed an official's son. He don't really have much more of that of his early ministry before his ministry of Galilee. As important as the ministry in Judea was, it was not a major preaching campaign like that of Galilee. It was quite different. It was good preparation for Galilee, but more was needed. His three-month preaching campaign in Galilee would be spiritually and physically exhausting. He first needed to be battle-tested. We think about going to boot camp and first being, a soldier first being tested before he actually gets out into the battlefield. Well, Jesus indeed was tested. He needed to be battle-tested, to be on the receiving end of everything that Satan could throw his way. And he was. He needed to know how to gain victory in the very worst of circumstances. After 40 days without food, Satan tempted Christ three times. And three times he defeated Satan with those three simple words, it is written, it is written, it is written. The man Jesus had experienced the powerful word of God in action. We want to keep that in mind. This is the man Jesus Christ who suffered like you and I do. He needed this. He grew in stature and knowledge of God as we read earlier. So he had learned how to wield the sword of God. And he would need to know that in Galilee. He would need to know how to use the Word of God in action and in the battlefield as he battled against those powers of darkness in Galilee. So again, he was being prepared. Well, after the death of John the Baptist, Jesus heads north to Galilee to a people dwelling in darkness and in the shadow of death, as Matthew tells us. Jesus had preached to the nobility in Judea. He would now preach to the nobodies at Galilee. In what is considered to be the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, he opens with the very same words of John the Baptist. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. His itinerant preaching campaign in Galilee had begun. and to begin in Galilee was clearly by God's design. I like what one commentator says, Jesus' decision to focus on Galilee also prepared for the mission to the Gentiles. Whereas Jerusalem was mountainous and isolated, major international travel routes passed through Galilee. So there was a saying, Judea is on the way to nowhere, Galilee is on the road to everywhere. Clearly, by God's design, this is where Jesus would begin his public ministry, where it would go out into the world. Let's look at this ministry in Galilee that precedes this Sermon on the Mount. And we read, and I believe I have that on your handout there, Matthew 4, verses 23 through 25. And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and he brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. It was well known that the Messiah that was to come would be a healer of diseases. We see that particularly in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, particularly chapter 53, but in other places as well. His miracles attested to the authority of the messenger and to the authority of the message. It said indeed that He had come from God, that God had sent Him, and that God had given Him a message to speak to the people. It was proof positive that He had come from God. While in prison, John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the one to come, or should they look for another? We might find that amazing that John the Baptist, after all that he had preached and prepared his way, would even ask such a question. But you kind of think differently when you're in prison and perhaps about to lose your life. You kind of want to make things real certain. This was Jesus' response in Matthew 11, 4-6. And Jesus answered them, go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me. Jesus is saying, this is what the Messiah looks like, and it's me. When you read this, do you see those echoes of Isaiah 61, 1 and 2 that we read earlier? It's exactly what he's saying. He gave John his miracles in preaching the good news as proof that he had come. The one to come had indeed finally arrived. And in John 9, some Pharisees were outraged that on the Sabbath, Jesus would heal a blind man. The Pharisees told this man that they knew that Moses had come from God, that God spoke to Moses. But they didn't know where this man came from. The man's response caused him to be thrown out of the synagogue for life. He responds in John 9, 30-33, The man answered, Why, this is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from. And yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. He was telling these well-educated Pharisees what they already knew. And that's what angered them so much. They knew in their heart of hearts, Jesus must have come from God. They just simply didn't want Jesus to have come from God. So the miracles were unassailable evidence that Jesus came from God and was sent by God. His miracles were also an irrefutable sign that the Kingdom of God was present, that it had indeed arrived. He said to some Pharisees who had hardened their hearts against Him, who were in danger of their unbelief, of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, because they had seen so much of the miracles that Christ had done, and still they had hardened their hearts. Jesus says, but if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. It's here. The Kingdom of God is here. I am the King and the Kingdom has come. And so along with those miracles of Galilee came the mileage of Galilee. And Galilee was a district covering 70 miles by 40 miles. Of course, that's fine if you have a car and there's good streets, but of course, that's not the case. Now, according to the historian Josephus, Galilee had some 204 cities and villages. and each with no fewer than 15,000 persons. If that's true, there was something like around three million persons that he had ministered to. He goes on to say that at the rate of two villages or towns per day, three months would be required to visit all of them with no time off for the Sabbath. So this was a major preaching campaign that he was embarking on. We can only imagine the physical and emotional strain that he endured during this time. Remember, this was the man Jesus, the man who would become fatigued, the man who would have sore feet, whose body ached from all the traveling and all the walking that he had done. Is it no wonder the man Jesus was often found praying all night and into the wee hours of the morning? Why? Because he just wanted to set an example? No, he needed to. He needed to do that. He needed to be in deep prayer with God. He had to do that. It was an absolute necessity in his life, in his ministry, to be praying day and night to God. What an example that that is for us, isn't it? how much we need to be with God, to spend time in God's presence, to be going before the throne of grace and receiving that grace that we need in this life. Well, Murphy's Law says what can go wrong will go wrong. And ours is the best laid plans of mice and men. From the promise of the one to crush Satan to the Sermon on the Mount and beyond, A trillion and one things could have gone wrong for Jesus to have ever sat down and preached this. We should be astonished that this ever came about. That Jesus actually one day climbed a mountain, sat down, opened His mouth, and preached this of the greatest affirmance. A trillion and one things could have gone wrong. And are you the least bit awestruck that it actually came about, that the ministry in general of Christ ever came to be. The Bible consists of 66 books, and of course we know that. But really it is that one book with one author. And what we have, really, are 66 chapters that have been seamlessly woven together. It's just, it's a book with 66 chapters. You ever see the Bible that way? Again, when Jesus sat down and opened his mouth to speak, everything was exactly as it was supposed to be and meant to be. Now we move from the preparation to the preaching of the sermon. After Jesus had finished preaching, Matthew records the crowd's reaction of the last two passages of Matthew 7. And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowd were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes. Jesus said things to this crowd that they had never heard before with a power that they had never felt before. And we see that same reaction throughout the ministry of Christ. For instance, the chief priests and the Pharisees demanded an answer from the officers who had failed to arrest Jesus. These temple policemen didn't use Jesus' popularity with the crowds as the reason why they did not execute this arrest warrant. They weren't saying that they had come to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Why did they risk the wrath of the Sanhedrin? Why did they risk being permanently thrown out of the synagogue along with their families? Their answer they gave the Sanhedrin was revealing. No one ever spoke like this. That was their answer. Of all the answers they could have given, nobody has ever spoke like this. Now, let me paraphrase that a little bit. Humans don't talk like this. This is not the way humans speak. It's not the way humans talk. The words He spoke and the power and authority of those words were supernatural. They were not from this world. No one ever spoke like this man. Those who came to arrest Jesus were instead arrested by His very words. How did Jesus' words differ from yours and mine? Well, like everything Jesus spoke, He spoke perfectly. He spoke the words that His Father told Him to speak. He never stuttered like I do. He never needed to apologize. He never needed to make corrections or retractions from what he had said. He never had to clarify what he really meant to say. There was no misunderstanding unless a person wanted to deliberately misunderstand what he had said. One writer notes, there's always a gap between our words and our thoughts, but Jesus' words perfectly represent his thinking. Wouldn't it be great if our words perfectly mirrored our thoughts? No. Problem with that is perfect words would only serve to reveal our imperfect thoughts, so that doesn't work so well for us. So how long was this Sermon on the Mount? Commentators believe that the Sermon on the Mount was a distillation of his teaching. It could have been given over perhaps several hours or even over several days. One writer says this, many of the people had traveled a great distance. No matter how great, a 10-minute sermon would not have left them hungering for more. would have left them hungry for more. A good example of preaching to a large crowd would be the feeding of the 4,000. Jesus sent his disciples away to get food for them. The reason was that these people had been with Jesus for three days. So that's an example of Jesus teaching to a large crowd. It was actually three days of teaching. The crowds often into the thousands were always pressing in on Christ. And so sometimes Jesus would enter into a boat and preach from a boat. But this time, He ascends a mountain. So let's read again Matthew 5 verses 1 and 2. Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him, and He opened His mouth and taught them." Well, let's start with the mountains there. And the mountains are very important in the book of Matthew. We find Jesus on seven mountains throughout the teaching of the book of Matthew. Seven times we find Him here. And why is that? I personally think it's just, it's an excellent picture of God and His Word being high and lifted up. Glorifying God and glorifying His Word. And we get that same sense, don't we, with Moses. He climbs up to Mount Sinai and he receives the law of God and brings it back down to the people. And so writers have pointed out some parallels between these two. So Israel, of course, what does Moses do? He gives the law to Israel. And what is Israel? They're the offspring of the twelve patriarchs. Jesus also sends a mountain to teach to his twelve disciples. And he teaches them the commands of the kingdom of God. Matthew Henry writes, When the law was given, the Lord came down upon the mountain. Now the Lord went up into one. Then he spoke in thunder and lightning, now in a still small voice. Then the people were ordered to keep their distance. Now they are invited to draw near, a blessed change." Indeed. Indeed. Hebrews tells us just that, that approaching Mount Sinai in the Old Testament, you were faced with a certain fiery death. What a wonderful thing that you and I can now approach God. We can approach the throne of grace. It's a different picture that we have in the New Testament. Well, Matthew tells us that Jesus sat down. Again, commentators say much about Jesus sitting and not standing. Indeed, he taught in the synagogues, seated. And that was, indeed, that was the custom of the time. And it's true that kings sit on thrones and that judges sit on benches and such, and that their words carry authority and weight. But as an itinerant preacher, Jesus was often walking and talking. what an itinerant preacher does. In fact, he had just finished a three-month walkathon covering Galilee. Perhaps my opinion is being driven by the fact that I am a little bit older than I used to be, but I think the reason that Jesus sat down was really for this reason. Why stand when you can sit? Jesus, I've certainly looked for opportunities in His life, in His ministry of the opportunities of sitting down and resting and such. I just think we might read too much into Jesus sitting down. I think it was just a good thing for Him to do. A passage goes on to say that He opened His mouth and taught them. Why make that obvious point? Who doesn't open their mouth to speak? Again, theologians have remarked, and I think with good reason, that these words were a formal pronouncement. That is, as one commentator remarks, Opened his mouth is a familiar Old Testament idiom to introduce a significant pronouncement. And no doubt, this was a significant pronouncement, the Sermon on the Mount. Now perhaps that is one of the reasons for Matthew noting that Jesus opened his mouth to speak. But I think there are at least two more reasons. And I put the first reason like this. When Jesus the prophet opened his mouth to speak God's words, the mouths of the earlier prophets had closed forever. I think we get that picture of Jesus opening his mouth. John the Baptist and all the other Old Testament prophets had finished speaking. The last and most important voice opened his mouth and spoke. Hebrews tells us just that in Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world." I think this is really what Matthew had in mind. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples saw a vision. Moses and Elijah were talking to Christ who was being seen in all His glory. God's voice from heaven didn't tell His disciples to listen to Moses or to listen to Elijah. Rather, He tells them, this is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him. That's the message. Listen to My Son. He is the One who is now speaking on My behalf. and He opened His mouth is also simply good narration. Matthew is drawing us into the scene as we picture Christ climbing a mountain, sitting down and opening His mouth to speak. He wants us to feel that excitement and anticipation that the crowd is feeling. Can you picture yourself in the crowd to hear Jesus in His teaching? Do you see yourself crowding in to hear. Matthew wants us to feel that intense build-up. Oh look, the man who heals the sick and casts out demons is climbing a mountain to teach us. The man who preached the gospel of the kingdom to every city and village of Galilee has now sat down. The man who John the Baptist claims is mightier than he, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, is opening his mouth and is about to speak. The anticipation must have just been so great during that time. This prophet, priest, and king was about to deliver a message like no other. And we can picture them, can't you just picture them hanging on every word, you know, keep the babies quiet. I think you could probably just, you could have heard a lot at that point, just waiting to hear what this what man was going to say. And may we too be a people who hang on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. May we be like that crowd that says, I've got to hear what this man of God has to say. Well, let's look at the people that Christ had in mind when He spoke these powerful words. And as with all churches, it was a mixed congregation with mixed motives for listening. There were the rich and the poor, the law keepers and the law breakers. There were the respectable and the despised. It was for anyone who had ears to hear. In his greatest of sermons, Jesus knew that some who were listening were unconverted. And he commanded that they enter the narrow gate that's hard but leads to life, and to avoid the wide gate that's easy but leads to destruction. He warns them and us today that on that last day, many will hear these frightening words. And really, I think these are the most frightening words I can read in all of Scripture. I never knew you. Jesus is going to say to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. It will be shown that the 50 laws that Jesus is about to bring, these 50 imperatives of the kingdom, that they were never a pattern of their lives. This was not a picture. The kingdom message, the Sermon on the Mount was not a picture of their lives. It will be the very law of God that shows them that they had not really known Christ in a saving way. He goes on to say that putting His words into action was like building a house on rock and not sand. When the storms of judgment day came, only the house built on the rock of Christ would remain standing. Now having said all that, Verse 1 and 2 of Matthew 5 tells us that He taught them. Who is them? His disciples. Now, of course, we don't know what that picture exactly looked like. Was the crowd crowding in to listen to what He heard from His disciples? Did He teach them? direct his direct his words to the crowd we don't we don't really know what that like but we know at the end of the sermon the crowds were astonished at what they had heard so definitely they were able to listen and to hear what Jesus was speaking to his disciple and that's what he said that is he's teaching his disciples is what the passage says instead of the sermon on the mount one writer prefers to call it a discourse on discipleship That's really what the Sermon on the Mount is, a discourse in discipleship. The true disciples are those whom God has already made willing by granting them new hearts and minds. They are His new spiritual creation who now hungers and thirsts after His kingdom and His righteousness. David conveys that thought when he says, I delight to do Your will, O God, Your law, is within my heart. That remains the same today. The regenerated believers in the Old Testament are the same today. They love the law of God. The Sermon on the Mount opens with eight blessings, we call the Beatitudes, followed by how these blessed people are to live life in God's kingdom. We start out by identifying the citizens as people who are already blessed. People who are already have been saved by God. Blessed are you is describing the gracious standing that citizens of the kingdom already have. The 50 commands that follow simply describe how its citizens are to think and to act. Paul repeats the same pattern. It is by the mercies of God that we are to conform to the will of God. Grace comes first. Before we keep laws and commands, before we can even have the ability to keep laws and commands, grace must come first. Mercy must come first. The Sermon on the Mount is not the giving out of salvation. It is the living out of salvation. Forgiving others is not a way to be saved. It's what saved people do. It's what the saved do. We forgive others as much as we might struggle with that at times. Obeying the 50 imperatives that Christ gives does not bring redemption. It's not a way to be saved, nor does it make us citizens of God's kingdom. Christ took that upon himself. Paul writes, he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We're already members of that kingdom. Another reason we know that the sermon is addressed mainly to save citizens is because he acknowledges that God is their father. He does that 16 times in this sermon. He acknowledges that God is their father. That's not a term that Jesus throws around lightly. There were some who were wanting to kill him, who were confident that God was their father. After all, they thought, well, we can trace our ancestry all the way back to Abraham. Therefore, God must be our father. Jesus crushes that idea by telling them, if God were your father, you would love me, for I came from God. You are of your father, the devil. Not everybody who claims that God is their father is making a genuine claim. Another evidence is that these kingdom citizens are already keeping God's commands. He doesn't insist that people give, pray, or fast. He says, when you pray, when you give, when you when you fast. Here's the proper attitude you have for doing the things that you are already doing. This is the right way to be doing these things. Nor is the Sermon on the Mount a description of some exceptional Christians. I remember years ago, there was a person that made that kind of distinction. I've never forgot that analogy that he used. These super spiritual Christians were like warriors fighting in an arena. And the other Christians were to sit on the stands and simply cheer them on, really not being participating in the warfare at all. Terrible, terrible analogy. I gotta say, it actually sounded good way back then. Praise God that He continues to teach us to grow. But the Kingdom of God is for husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, school teachers and students, singles and soldiers, bakers and builders. Kingdom living is doing all things for the glory of God. Well, so why is it so important that we understand that these 50 laws of the Kingdom apply only to those who are already redeemed. Well, what's the alternative? Well, it's to see this. The Sermon on the Mount is simply a system of do's and don'ts that can hopefully win God's favor. And I remember years ago of thinking, looking at the Sermon on the Mount that way and thinking, I'm not doing so good. Instead of forgiving others, because we've been forgiven, we forgive others in the hopes that we will be forgiven. It's not how we look at the Sermon on the Mount or should. It's really nothing more than salvation by works, apart from grace. It's a rejection of justification by faith. It's not trusting that Christ's perfect obedience becomes ours, and his sinless sacrifice removes the debt of sin forever. It's simply a denial of justification by faith in Christ alone. Paul, the former Pharisee, said it well in Philippians 3.9, and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. And in Galatians, Paul gives us this really sober, sober warning. For anyone who would want to look at the law, and there are 50 laws, 50 commands in this Sermon on the Mount, who would want to use those as a way of salvation. He says in Galatians 5.4, you are severed from Christ. You who would be justified by the law, you have fallen from grace. Boy, that's scary just hearing that. You've fallen from grace. You are trying to be justified by being a good person, by living up to the law of God. And we move on now to the purpose that Christ preached this sermon. There are several reasons that could be given, but what I want to focus on now is what I believe it is the purpose above all purposes. I think if you get anything else out of this sermon, it is the purpose, the main theme or purpose of this preaching of this greatest of sermons. And it is this, the authority of the King. I think that that is the theme of the Sermon on the Mount. The authority of the King. I like what one writer says, what is the Sermon on the Mount all about? The short answer is, Jesus. It's about Jesus. The long answer is, it's about Jesus' authority. The longer answer is, it's about Jesus' truthful and powerful authority and why you and I should submit to Him. All authority. Those are the two key words of this gospel, and that's what I have entitled this sermon, All Authority, because I do believe that what he has said is absolutely true. It's about the authority of the king. And so says the prophet Isaiah some 800 years early, and the government will be on his shoulders. The reaction of those listening also lends itself to that theme. We read that they were astonished at his teaching because he taught them what? As one who had authority. It wasn't teaching like the scribes. This man taught with authority. And so even the spiritual leaders acknowledged that Jesus spoke and acted with authority. In Matthew 21, 23. And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him and he was teaching and said, by what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? See, they knew that Jesus was speaking in an authoritative manner. They knew that. But they always say, what right do you have to speak the way that you do? You speak as one who has the authority to say the things that you do. Well, the best answer Jesus gave really was at the end of Matthew in that great commission. He says, Jesus commands that disciples be made of all nations. Why? Because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, the authority of the king. And submitting to his authority determines one's eternal destination. With full authority, he could tell the people, if you don't have me, you don't have a father. If you don't have me, you don't have the Father. Well, the King and His kingdom has come. And with that comes the authority to rule and to reign. To be a citizen of the kingdom of God means that we have submitted to the authority of King Jesus in our lives. And doing this is And in doing this, we agree and desire to obey these 50 commands that Jesus gives in this sermon. The rule and reign of Jesus Christ cannot be torn away from the Gospel. That is sadly what happens in many churches today, that the authority of the King is being torn away from the Gospel. What is the Gospel? Kind of walk us through this a little bit. What is the Gospel? Well, in a word, it's Christ. It's the Person of Christ. The Gospel that saves is to know and have the Person of Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 1 that God has a Gospel. And then in v. 9, that same chapter, that it is the Gospel of His Son. The good news is having Jesus. The Person of Jesus. Alright? Since having the Person of Christ is the Gospel that saves, how much of Him do we need to be saved? How much of Christ do we need, the person of Christ, need to be saved? Well, virtually any Christian would respond by saying, well, you know, we need, of course we need all of Christ. We can't, we can't tear him in half, right? But some have done just that. They embrace Christ as Savior, but not as King. Boy, if the Sermon on the Mount teaches anything, it teaches you can't do this. You can't do that. It's a denial of the king's authority to rule and reign in his kingdom. The Sermon on the Mount destroys that notion. How is it possible to be a citizen in Christ's kingdom, yet refuse to obey the king of that kingdom? It's absurd. I don't know if you can have an example in history where that's such a case. It's like saying to Jesus, I put it in these words, I'm a citizen of your kingdom, but I don't recognize you as my king. I refuse to bow my knee to your authority. Well, later on, I may decide to make you my king. But for now, I'm going to live in your kingdom on my terms. There would be a time when that person would probably be executed for saying such a thing. And yet, in essence, that's what people are really saying when you say, well, I'm saved by grace. I'm saved by grace. That means, you know, let grace abound because of all my sin. And people have just misunderstood the very reason that Christ saved us is to live a holy life. But in thought and in practice, that's what's actually being lived out in people's lives, is that Christ is not their king. St. Clair Ferguson writes, the forgiven life and the holy life are, in Jesus' view, two sides of the same coin. In our time, we have lost that balance and mixture. And I think he knows that well. He has his heart on the pulse of the church. How about you? Do you have the whole Christ? Is there a pattern of holiness in your life and mind that shows that you have submitted to the rightful authority of the King? Of the Kingdom that we that we profess that we live in. Has Your house been built on the authoritative words of this King of Kings? Jesus is a King like no other. Isaiah had a vision of King Jesus in all His splendor and glory. He sees Christ exalted on His throne, wearing His kingly robe, and he hears the angels calling to one another, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. So great was His glory that these angels had to cover their faces. And Isaiah felt himself to be a dead man. seeing the very glory of God. The glorious, majestic king is also a great high priest like Melchizedek. He's a priest who never stops interceding on behalf of his people. He's also the prophet Moses foretold of. Moses warned that not listening to him would end in certain destruction. This king of the Jews would also be a light to the Gentiles as foretold, particularly in Isaiah. He would also be the suffering servant Isaiah spoke of, despised and rejected by men and men of sorrows and acquainted with grief. A man smitten by God and afflicted by him. This king would exchange his scepter for a shepherd's staff. He would give his life. He would give eternal life to his sheep. And he would make certain that not one of them would ever perish. He would know the poverty of exchanging his royal crown for a crown of thorns. The king of glory would become an object of shame. He would experience the full cup of God's wrath so that his people did not have to. When he needed them most, his disciples would abandon him. He would know the horror and pain of feeling that God had forsaken him. This unique king would give his life for every citizen in his kingdom. That's a great king. All in heaven and earth, of course, are going to one day bow their knees to this King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Some will do that, of course, daily. I hope we do that on a daily basis. We are bowing our knees in submission to this wonderful, glorious King. Others, of course, are going to do so unwillingly on that day of judgment. Everyone is going to one day bow their knee to this King of Kings. Our hope, as we preach from the pulpit, is that everyone listening has or will bow their knees to the King willingly before it's too late. That opportunity to do that is now. And so the king we're commanded to bow down our knees to is gentle and lowly in heart. He promises to give rest for souls who are weighed down by sin. Jesus invites all to drink deeply, deeply from the well of salvation. He says, if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. Now is that time. Now is that opportunity. That door of the ark is open, but it's going to be shut someday. There'll be no more opportunity. But now is the time to taste and see that the Lord is good. Amen.