What Jesus Taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Visual Commentary)

0:03- Gospel of Matthew is one of the earliest accounts

0:05of Jesus of Nazareth.

0:07And in chapters 5 through 7, we find a collection

0:10of Jesus' most well-known teachings,

0:12often called the Sermon on the Mount.

0:14Here we learn what Jesus means when he announces

0:16that the kingdom of the skies has come near

0:19and what it looks like to participate in God's Kingdom.

0:22The whole sermon has been given a three-part shape.

0:24There's the introduction,

0:26then the large main body, and then the conclusion.

0:30The introduction announces the surprising, counterintuitive

0:33identity of those who are a part of God's Kingdom.

0:36Then comes the main body of teaching where Jesus explores

0:39what he means when he calls his followers to be righteous.

0:43- What does he mean by righteousness?

0:44- Righteousness is about living in right relationship

0:47with God and with others.

0:49It's a character trait that creates justice

0:52and peace in the world.

0:53And the body of the sermon is like Jesus'

0:56manifesto on righteousness, examined from three angles

1:00and three big parts: how this righteousness relates

1:03to the Torah, how this righteousness relates

1:06to religious practices of his day,

1:08and how this righteousness is expressed in our relationships

1:11with God and with neighbor.

1:12Finally, Jesus concludes the sermon by calling people

1:16to make a choice about how they're going to respond.

1:18- Okay, I see it: three main parts of this whole sermon,

1:21and the middle part itself has three parts.

1:24- Right.

1:25And then, every one of these parts itself has three parts.

1:29There is a lot of design in the structure

1:31of the Sermon on the Mount,

1:33and we are gonna go over all of it.

1:36In the introduction, Jesus offers a surprise announcement

1:39to the people standing in front of him.

1:41They are invited to experience the good

1:43life of God's Kingdom.

1:45He first offers nine sayings that redefine

1:48who is experiencing the good life,

1:50commonly called the Beatitudes.

1:52Here, we learn that those entering God's Kingdom first are

1:56the lowly outsiders who hunger for righteousness

1:59and suffer as peacemakers.

2:01- Next, Jesus calls his followers "salt

2:03of the land." What's this all about?

2:05- In the Hebrew Scriptures, salt is a symbol

2:07of God's long-lasting covenant relationship with Israel.

2:11So Jesus is claiming that he

2:12and his followers are carrying Israel's covenant

2:15relationship to its fulfillment.

2:17- Next, Jesus calls them "the light of the world"

2:20and "a city set up on a mountain."

2:22- Jesus is referencing here a promise from the prophet

2:24Isaiah that one day the inhabitants

2:26of Jerusalem would reflect God's light, peace,

2:30and blessing out to all the world.

2:32- So Jesus is saying that he

2:33and his followers are fulfilling that promise.

2:37- Right. And how they go about doing that is what the rest

2:40of the Sermon on the Mount is all about.

2:42- Now, in the main body of the sermon,

2:44Jesus calls his followers to do righteousness.

2:47- Righteousness means living in right relationship with God

2:50and with others, and Jesus explores his vision

2:54of righteousness from three perspectives, resulting in three

2:58big parts to the main body of the sermon.

3:00- The first perspective is

3:01that his teachings about righteousness fulfill the

3:05Torah and Prophets. What does this mean?

3:07- Well, the Torah and Prophets referred

3:09to the Hebrew Scriptures. And this big idea

3:11that Jesus fulfills them,

3:13it's unpacked in three parts.

3:14First, Jesus claims

3:15that he's not setting aside the laws of the Torah.

3:18Rather, he's bringing Israel's story

3:20and all of its laws to their completion.

3:23Next, Jesus offers six case studies of

3:26how his righteousness fulfills the Torah.

3:28He explores the topics of anger, lust, divorce,

3:32telling the truth, revenge, and enemy love.

3:34Finally, Jesus sums up this way of life

3:37as "teleios," a Greek word that means complete or whole.

3:42The purpose of the Torah is to teach people God's wisdom

3:45so they can become mature, whole people

3:47who spread God's blessing to the world.

3:50And this call to become whole

3:51or complete links back to this section's beginning

3:55where Jesus claims that living by his teachings will

3:58fulfill the Torah and the Prophets.

4:01- Next, Jesus looks at how his righteousness relates

4:04to the religious practices of his day.

4:07Now, this section has three parts. 97 00:04:09,815 --> 00:04:10,815Right.

4:10In the first part, Jesus claims

4:11that living in right relationship with God

4:14and others results in a reward.

4:17But be careful, Jesus says,

4:18because if you're doing your righteousness

4:20to get public praise,

4:22then you'll miss out on the real reward

4:25that God has in store.

4:26- Next, Jesus gives three examples of

4:28how religious devotion can go sideways.

4:31His examples are generosity to the poor, prayer, and fasting.

4:35- In each of these, Jesus challenges his followers

4:37to express their devotion to God in subtle ways

4:40that don't attract attention.

4:42Then he completes this section by teaching about

4:44what the real reward is.

4:46- Yeah. He says, don't store up for yourself treasure on the land,

4:49but store up for yourself treasure in the sky.

4:52So what is the sky treasure?

4:54Well, this idea of treasure links back to Jesus' opening claim

4:57that true righteousness brings a reward.

5:00The greatest treasure is not admiration from people.

5:04Rather, the real reward is knowing

5:07and being known by the loving God of the universe.

5:12- And that leaves this third

5:13and final perspective,

5:15how doing righteousness affects our relationship

5:17with God and neighbor.

5:19- Now, this section itself has three parts.

5:22First, Jesus talks about money and possessions.

5:25- Why start with money?

5:27- Well, our stuff tends to claim our allegiance

5:29and causes us to worry.

5:31And so our relationship to our stuff can be one

5:34of the biggest obstacles to healthy relationships

5:36with God and with other people.

5:39- Jesus teaches, don't store up your stuff on the land.

5:42Rather, store up treasure in the sky.

5:44- Then Jesus gives two parables.

5:46One is about two kinds of eyes

5:49you can have: a healthy, generous eye or an evil, stingy eye.

5:54The second parable focuses on two masters

5:57you can serve, God or money.

5:59Then Jesus gives a beautiful homily about worry.

6:03Why chase after security from things

6:05that are ultimately insecure?

6:08Jesus invites us to trust the generous God of creation

6:11who cares about us more than we can imagine.

6:14That's the first part.

6:16Next, Jesus directly addresses our

6:18relationship with God and neighbor.

6:20- Yeah. This section begins with, "Do not judge others,

6:23or you too will be judged."

6:25Then come two more parables.

6:27Another about eyes, how you shouldn't try

6:29to remove a speck out of someone else's eye

6:32- When you have a log in your own.

6:33- Then comes a parable about not tossing holy pearls

6:36to pigs and dogs.

6:38It's a riddle with multiple meanings,

6:39but essentially it's about using discernment when we try

6:43to help and correct others.

6:44Then, because relationships are so complex,

6:47Jesus encourages his disciples to ask God

6:50for the wisdom they need.

6:52Ask, seek, and knock, and the door will be opened for you.

6:56- This section of the Sermon on the Mount ends

6:58with the Golden Rule: Do to others

7:00what you want them to do to you.

7:02- Jesus says that this simple teaching is what the Torah

7:05and Prophets are all about.

7:08And so the golden rule

7:10concludes the third perspective on doing righteousness.

7:13And it also links us back to the opening of the main body

7:16of the sermon where Jesus said he came to bring the Torah

7:20and Prophets to their completion.

7:22- Finally, we're going to look at the last major section

7:25of the sermon, the conclusion.

7:27Here, Jesus places a choice in front of his listeners about

7:30how they're going to live their lives.

7:31- Now, the section has three parts.

7:33- And each one illustrates this choice

7:35with a different image.

7:37The first image is about two paths with two different gates.

7:41One leads to life and the other to ruin.

7:43Second is about discerning between two kinds of leaders

7:46who claim to represent God.

7:48They're like two kinds of trees, one good and one bad.

7:51Not everyone who says they speak for God really does,

7:55but Jesus says, "You will know a tree by its fruit."

7:58The last image is about two types

8:00of houses you can build. If you ignore Jesus

8:03and build your house by your own wisdom,

8:05it's like building on sand,

8:07and good luck when the storm comes. But if you listen to him

8:10and build your house with Jesus' wisdom,

8:13you are building your house on a rock.

8:15And with that, the Sermon on the Mount comes to a close.

8:18- Okay, so let's review the whole sermon.

8:20It begins with the surprise announcement about

8:22how the good life of God's Kingdom has come

8:24to the least likely people.

8:26And then, in the main body, Jesus teaches how

8:29to do right by God and others.

8:30And finally, the conclusion calls for a decision.

8:33In light of everything Jesus has said,

8:35what choice will you make?

8:37- That's a great summary. Now it's time to read

8:39and then re-read, and re-read again, the Sermon on the Mount.