The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached

This is the longest section of teaching from Jesus that is recorded in the Bible. John concludes that the works of Jesus could fill all the world’s volumes and yet here we have just a small glimpse into the preaching/teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Why would it be helpful to take a deep dive into Matthew 5–7? We could go on and on, but let me narrow it down to four reasons.

The Teaching Is Astonishingly Authoritative

At the conclusion of Jesus’ sermon in Matthew 7:28–29, it says, “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

No one had ever taught like Jesus. This portion of teaching is not merely instruction on good living or wise advice to be considered. Here we meet the creator of the universe, and he is telling us how to live rightly in his creation. Although we enjoy God’s Word, it is often overlooked that God’s Word has authority in our lives. Jesus’ teaching in this passage reminds us that he commands and we are compelled (like the crowds) to be astonished into obedience.

The Teaching Is from Jesus’ Heart

The opening of the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 2:2, “And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…” Why not just begin with “and he taught them?” It seems odd to us that it starts with “and he opened his mouth.” But in the Greek, this has a double meaning. It is not just that he taught, but “opened his mouth” infers that Jesus is giving or teaching a solemn declaration.

Jesus’s solemn teaching isn’t just coming from his mouth; he saw the crowds and reveals his heart. This sermon, like every sermon, is more than just content transfer. It is for transformation. We should take notice of this teaching because it’s heart to heart.

The Teaching Reveals the “Blessed Life”

We all love the Beatitudes, but we have a poor understanding of what a blessing is. I mean poor (and I am only speaking of my opinion here) because blessings in our culture seem to be associated with material or financial things. “God blessed me with a new car. God blessed us with this house.”

Now that is true—every good gift in our lives comes down from the Father of lights. But here the Greek word used is Markarios, which means the conditions of something. Something is blessed—conditionally—on the basis of the following words. We would say the beatitudes are those under the favor of God.

When we reread the beatitudes, we quickly find not physical material gifts from God but divine favor in understanding and situations. We are blessed as we understand we are spiritually bankrupt on our own and because God has given us favor in belief. This is the “blessed life.”

The Teaching Ends with Who Enters the Kingdom

Although this is not a sermon on performance, we can continually fall into the trap of earning the favor of God…or at least trying. The Sermon on the Mount ends with Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus draws or clarifies the line between heaven and hell, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Why? Because he is the ultimate judge.

Those that seek to perform and earn the kingdom will be cast out. Those that have faith in Christ and desire his appearing are part of the kingdom of God. Doing the will of God looks best from this view: Titus 2:13–14 says, “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Those in the kingdom work from salvation, not for it.  

Although we could list reasons for preaching through the Sermon on the Mount, each of us would do well to read it and see the heart of Christ as he desires for his people to live among his creation…until his appearing.  

-Pastor John Richardson