Matthew 5 - Jesus Teaches the Sermon on the Mount

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We’ve reached Day 5 and Chapter  5 of Matthew in our reading through the New Testament. If you have read every day, you get the weekend off. If not, there is still time to catch up. Today, Jesus begins a famous stretch of teaching called the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is teaching his disciples about the nature of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is wherever God is ruling or reigning.  It is a state of affairs where shows God’s desire and design for what He wanted His world to look like  

You will notice when you read through these 3 chapters the upside down nature of God’s kingdom. As such it is very different from the kingdom of the world  For instance, in God’s kingdom the poor can be blessed, and the persecuted can find joy.  In the kingdom of the world the rich are held in high esteem, and those in power get to do the persecuting.  

Jesus teaches some very important and very challenging principles like if someone slaps you on the cheek, turn the other cheek.  If someone steals your shirt let him have your coat too.  Once again this flies in the face of a dog eat dog mentality in the world which says. “Get all you can when can get it.”  

Jesus then teaches that his disciples when they follow  these kingdom principles they will be the salt and light in the world. After all, who offers their coat when their shirt is stolen? Who waves and blesses the person who is “flipping them off”?  Who rejoices when the are made fun of and called a “Jesus Freak”!

What Jesus teaches here is what we say, “Your walk is more important than your talk!”

Jesus also uses this time to teach the true meaning of the Law  The Jewish leaders called Jesus a “law breaker”, because he did not follow their rituals. He exposed their hypocrisy when they for instance prayed long and drawn out wordy prayers to show how smart they were.  They tithed on their mints and herbs but walked around with “hearts as a black as coal”. They took advantage of their right to divorce their wives due to the provisions Moses gave them in the law by divorcing their wives whenever they well pleased. 

Jesus challenged them (and us) that when we lust after another person’s spouse it is like committing adultery in our hearts.  When we “rip” someone verbally it is like murdering their soul and spirit. Finally, Jesus says something that warns us NOT to take every word written in the Bible literally when he says, “If your hand causes you to sin cut it off”, and “when your eye causes you to lust gouge it out”.  Unfortunately some fanatics have taken these commands literally and maimed themselves.

Of course Jesus is teaching metaphorically here, but what he is saying is do everything in your life possible to get rid of things that causes you to sin.  Be intentional to live a life above reproach. Why? Because we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.  If Christians don’t live their lives like Jesus would if he were them, we will live in a dark and tasteless world! Our testimony about Jesus will not match what our words and actions preach!

Does your life give light to the world you live in? Does your life flavor and preserve the places you go and the people you hang out with? 

I heard a great saying, “If you were on trial for being a Christian, is there enough evidence to convict you!”

Finally, remember living life by God’s kingdom values will give you the life you’ve always wanted.  You will live a life that has purpose and meaning and it will make and eternal impact!