Turn with me in the Word of God to Matthew chapter 5. I'm going to read just some verses out of the Sermon on the Mount. I did at home read through the Sermon on the Mount out loud to see how long it would take. It took me 16 minutes, so that may be slightly long for a Scripture reading. Pastor Gordon would do it. But I want to just read a few verses to remind you about some key points, I think, in the sermon, and then you may want to keep your Bibles open as we go through it.
Beginning at Matthew chapter 5, verse 1, we read the Word of God: "Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him, and He opened His mouth and taught them." Then down at verse 14 of chapter 5: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
And then moving over to chapter 7 at verse 13: "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
And then down to chapter 7, verse 24: "Anyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And anyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."
So far the reading of God's Word.
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the great teaching episodes in the life of Jesus and in the Gospels, and so it is absolutely right and important and necessary to take time to go through it carefully, which Pastor Gordon did for us over a number of months. And we learned so much from that approach to the Sermon on the Mount. But there's always a slight danger that when we're done, we maybe have lost the forest for the trees. We know a lot about the pieces, but do we see how it all holds together? After all, Jesus preached this as a single sermon, a relatively short sermon, 16 minutes. Don't get your hopes up!
So, to go back to the sermon and say, what did Jesus have in mind as a whole? What's the function of this sermon as a whole? And we can see that when we keep in mind, I think, the context of this sermon. Jesus has continued the ministry of John the Baptist, preaching repentance and forgiveness. Jesus has said the kingdom is near, and of course we know He's the King who's bringing the kingdom near. Matthew has declared in the words of Isaiah that Jesus is the great light shining in the darkness. And Jesus has called disciples to follow Him.
But in addition to disciples following Him, there are great crowds following Him. The disciples, we'd like to believe at least, are following Jesus because of who He is and what He says and what He's teaching. They are committed to Him and to His words. But crowds are also following Him who are following Him for what they can get, for the healings they can get, for the deliverances they can experience. They're not so much interested in Jesus in Himself; they're interested in themselves and just what they can get out of Him.
And it's in that situation then that Jesus goes up on a mountainside, and He calls to Himself His disciples to teach them about what life in Him is really going to be like, what He's calling them to, what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And we know that while this sermon is primarily directed to the disciples, the crowd is there as well, and the crowd is hearing what He's saying. And so Jesus is both encouraging and challenging. That's what the sermon is all about. It's to encourage us and it's to challenge us as to why are we following Jesus? What are we looking for in Jesus? What are we after?
And this sermon is a great model sermon. It has an introduction, and it has a conclusion, and because it's a perfect sermon, it has three points. So, that's what we want to look at, and the introduction is important because in the introduction, Jesus wants to get our attention. And the introduction are what we call the Beatitudes, and our translations always translate that "blessed are the," and the minute we hear that word "blessed," we all become kind of solemn and pious and serious, and that's a good thing. But this word more often perhaps has the sense of "happy are the," and maybe that immediately leads us to a slightly different expectation of what Jesus is doing in this sermon.
If you heard Jesus begin the words "those who?" maybe he paused. How would we go on? Who are the happy people? Well, it's not really so hard to answer, is it? Happy people are those who are healthy, wealthy, wise. Life is easy. They have job security. Right? Those are the happy people. Anybody can tell you that. You don't need a sermon for that.
And then Jesus gets their attention. Happy are those who are spiritually afflicted. Uh-oh. Happy are those who are grieving. Happy are those who are humble. Happy are those who are longing for righteousness. Happy are those who are willing to forgive. Happy are those who serve God truly. Happy are those who reconcile with brothers. Happy are those who are rejected and suffering for doing God's will.
See how immediately Jesus is challenging his listeners with this introduction? What are you living for? When I was young and my life was misspent, there was a popular song in the early 60s by Percy Sledge. Now, he's not often been quoted in this pulpit. And the song is, "What Am I Living For, If Not For You?" It was a love song. But it's not a bad hymn. What am I living for? What am I living for?
Well, Jesus is suggesting that if you're His follower, you maybe ought to be living for something other than what the world lives for. Those who are happy are not in the first place wealthy, healthy, and wise. In the first place, they're those committed to the cause of God and willing to suffer for the cause of God.
And so, having presented that introduction, Jesus begins His three points of what life will be like and should be like and must be like for those who follow Him, for those who are really committed to Him. And the first point He makes is that those committed to Jesus should be living a shining life. You are the light of the world if you belong to Jesus. And because you are light, you ought to shine in this world. And as you shine in this world, you will shine by doing good works that bring glory to your Father in heaven.
Is that the kind of life you're after? Do you want the spotlight on you? Do you want the world's spotlight on you? Or better, I suppose, according to this biblical image, do you want to be the spotlight shining in the world?
And what would it be like to be shining in this world, to be leading a shining life? Well, it would be a life of righteousness. It would be a life according to God's will. It would be a life according to God's law. It would be the life that Jesus is living. We have the law, Jesus says. The law will help us lead that shining life of good works. But the people who have been teaching you the law, Jesus says to that crowd and to the disciples, have been deceiving you. They've wanted to minimize the law. They've wanted to shrink the law. They've wanted to make the law manageable. I want you to think about the law in expanded terms. I want you to approach the law in a fundamentally different way.
The law says you shall not murder. Well, probably for most of us, that's fairly easy to check off. No murders. Doing well. And Jesus says, "The law, do not murder, is not just about avoiding violence. It has to do with anger management. It has to do with reconciling with other brothers and sisters. It has a positive dimension. It has a searching dimension. How is it with your anger? How is it with your relationship with others?"
Well, it says do not commit adultery. That's not just about a physical act, Jesus says. It's about a whole attitude of life. It's about how you think. It's about how you look at people. Are you pursuing purity in your life? And is your life reflecting purity in the world?
Some people say, well, Jesus talks about the law here to examine hearts more deeply. Well, that's part of it. But a bigger part of it is, what does your life show to the world? Does it show purity to the world?
What about divorce? God is opposed to divorce. Are we cultivating marriage in a way that reflects God's care for marriage? Now, we know from the New Testament there are reasons for divorce. That's not the point Jesus is making here. Jesus is saying, are our marriages reflecting, shining in the world as something beautiful to be emulated?
What about oaths? Do you take oaths just to be clever so that you can actually be deceitful? That's what Jesus is saying. Or are you a person whose life shines with truthfulness and reliability? That's what Jesus wants to know.
Is that the kind of life we're after? Is that the kind of life we're living in this world?
What about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth? I think what Jesus is saying here is, are you taking a principle that may be legitimate in a civil court and applying it to your whole life? Are you making your whole life about getting even and getting your own? Or are you living a life of generosity? Are you living a life of giving and serving? Are you living a life willing to give up some of what's legitimately your own in the interests of others?
You see how searching He's making the law, how demanding He's making the law, but also showing us how that law is to be lived in us and to shine in the world.
Do you love your neighbor and hate your enemy? Jesus says, try to show love all the time. Try to show love all the time. Pray for your persecutors. That's what it means to love your enemy. Pray for your persecutors. You know, your heavenly Father, who should be our example in all things, Our Heavenly Father sends rain on everybody, the good and the bad. And so we ought to be trying to show love to everybody, the good and the bad, as a testimony shining in this dark world. And if you do that, you'll be living the perfect life.
I think "perfect" here is in the Old Testament sense of faithful, consistent, reliable life.
Now, there are any number of exegetical points we could fight about here as we go along. But I think what Jesus is saying here is, if you're my follower, you are a light of the world. You don't have to become a light of the world. You are a light of the world. I've made you a light of the world. And I want your life as my follower then to shine, shine in righteousness, a righteousness that embraces the law in its fullness as it draws us to a life of love.
Isn't that true in every one of these commandments that Jesus has developed for us? Murder, adultery, lying, divorcing, getting even, these are all not manifestations of love taken by themselves, but under them all is that truth that we're to love God and love our neighbor. And when we do that, that will shine in this world.
And then Jesus says, you not only have a shining life that I call you to, but I call you also to a secret life. Chapter 6, verse 1: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people."
Now, it would appear at first glance, this seems to be a contradiction on Jesus' part. I want you to shine in this world, and I want you to not shine in this world. I want you to practice righteousness openly, and I want you to practice righteousness only secretly.
Well, we can see pretty quickly what he means here. I want you to shine in the world as you live for the heavenly Father and His righteousness, not as you live for the praise of men. And so, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven."
And then he goes on to talk about the three key acts of piety that the Pharisees always talked about. What does the pious life look like? What are the central disciplines of the pious life? He's talked about the life according to the law in righteousness. Now he's talking about a pious life. And what are the key parts of the pious life? It's giving to the needy, it's praying, and it's fasting. And Jesus is saying those central pillars of the pious life need to be pursued, need to be practiced for one reason only: to honor God. And if you're practicing them to get the praise of other people, then you get no reward from your heavenly Father. These things should be done in secret.
Are you giving? Then give in secret. Now, this was not in the Sermon on the Mount. This is my illustration. I went to preach at a PCA church in Las Vegas once that had just bought an old synagogue and they were temporarily sharing the building as a church and a synagogue. And one of the things that was striking was everything in the synagogue had a name on it as to who had given it. Even the light switch plates had names on them. Every chair had a name on it. This was part of the piety. You gave as a good work so people would see it. And this is what Jesus is attacking. Jesus is saying, if you give, give out of generosity to honor God and His cause.
Now, does that mean we shouldn't have a public collection? You could sort of glance around, see if somebody's not putting something in one of the plates. No, it's not that. It's the heart. What motivates you? Are you giving for God and His glory? Or are you giving to get praised by men?
The same with prayer. What characterizes your prayer? There are some people who like to pray to get the praise of men. There was an old practice in some of the Dutch Reformed churches that when a family came into church, it varied slightly from place to place, but in some churches the family sat down, but the Father stood and prayed silently. Now, that could be a very good practice, except there was always the danger that people kind of looked to see how long did Father stand. "Oh, He's more pious than others. He stood longer." You see how easy it is for perfectly legitimate practices to become more oriented to how human beings view them than how God views them.
And Jesus is saying here, you have to have a secret life that's oriented just to God and to honoring Him. And then He taught us the Lord's Prayer, and He says in the Lord's Prayer, at least half your prayer ought to be directed to me and my name and my kingdom and my will and my accomplishments, and only then get around to your needs in the secret of our communication with God. And then fasting should be part of helping us to pray as a discipline, not a way of impressing people with our moral rigor.
And so, we see this secret life, and we need careful reflection, don't we? Where do we live the shining life for everyone to see to glorify God, and where do we live the secret life so that we're not trying to impress men? It's a challenge, isn't it? It's a challenge, but that's what Jesus is calling us to. He wants us to shine as lights in this world. He wants us to be oriented just to the Father in how we live and what we pursue.
And then thirdly, He teaches us about the secure life. Now, maybe we've gotten to happy, healthy, and wise. That secure life. How can you live a secure life? How can you live a confident life for Jesus? Well, he begins this section of his sermon by saying, by having treasures in heaven. That's where a secure life comes from.
If your treasures are in heaven, if your eyes are in heavenly treasures. If your concern in life, if your treasure in life is the kingdom of God, the kingdom that is secure in heaven, the kingdom that Jesus will bring it the last day. Is that the real orientation of your life? Is that the real hope of your life? Is that the real confidence of your life? If God's kingdom and God's righteousness are the pursuit of your heart, the value of your heart, then you can be absolutely confident God will protect those things. And your life will be spent serving God, not serving mammon, not serving money. There is no stock market in heaven. It doesn't go up and down. We're secure.
And then you don't need to worry about food. You don't need to worry about drink. You don't need to worry about clothing. God takes care of those things for birds and flowers. He'll take care of them for you if you fix your eyes on the treasures of heaven that God has given us in Christ.
And then if our treasures are clear in heaven, it helps us in our relationships with other people. We don't have to be judgmental all the time. Think more about your own sin than the sins of others. It'll help get your life balanced. You don't have to worry about all those people who won't listen to you. You don't have to try to teach the unteachable. And if you don't know exactly what to do and how to do these things, pray. Pray, seek, and you'll find, ask, and it will be given to you.
This is the secure life where God, in answer to your prayer, will give you good things, and you'll be able to give good things to others.
You see, it's not a complicated life Jesus calls us to. It's just an exceedingly difficult life in the sense of being at odds with what the world sees as important and valuable. Jesus calls us to a shining light. That's going to be more and more true in this world, isn't it? As the values of this world deviate more and more from the values of Jesus, our life will stand out, our families will stand out. But Jesus calls us to have a secret life that we're cultivating. We're not bragging and boasting. And fundamental to that life is a confidence that God's going to give us everything we need. God's going to protect us. God's going to deliver us.
So, Jesus says in the conclusion, enter by the narrow gate. Walk the narrow way. Many there are, sadly many there are who will choose the wide way and the wide gate. But Jesus says to us, choose the narrow way. Choose the narrow way of the shining light according to God's law, the secret life hidden in the Father, of the secure life confident in God. Don't listen to the false prophets, the lawlessness of whose lives give them away, they're lawless either in being loose in their living or strictly legalistic in their living. They're not living God's way.
But rather you, and here's the great summary, but rather you listen to me in my words, hear my words, follow my words, and you'll be living the Christian life, and you'll be built on a rock, the rock that is Jesus, the rock that cannot be driven away by the storms of this life. You'll have that security. You'll have that assurance. You'll have that joy.
You know, as I was working on this, I turned to the Heidelberg Catechism, and I thought the best summary of the Lord's Prayer I know anywhere is in the Heidelberg Catechism. Question 86. Question 86 says, "Since we have been delivered from our misery by grace through Christ, without any merit of our own, why then should we do good works?"
Jesus is really saying in the Sermon on the Mount, why should we do good works? Not to earn His favor. He's given us His favor. He's made us the light of the world. Why should we do good works? "Because Christ, having redeemed us by His blood, is also renewing us by His Spirit into His image, so that with our whole lives we may show that we are thankful to God for His benefits, and that He may be praised through us. And further, so that we may be assured by our faith, by its fruits, and that by our godly living, our neighbors might be won over to Christ."
Good works show the world what God is doing in us. Good works help us to know what God has done for us, and good works sow in this world the truth of Christ. That's what Christ, at least part of what Christ wants us to learn in the Sermon on the Mount, that we might be faithful disciples and truly follow Him in the life that He gives us, which in this world is often a life of suffering, and in the life to which He calls us, which in the day to come will be the life of glory.
May each one of us be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray. O Lord, we are amazed at the wisdom of our Savior. We are amazed at the greatness of His call upon us, and even more amazed at the greatness of His grace that He has given us in the Holy Spirit. And so, help us not to walk the broad way of the world with the wisdom of the world, but help us to listen to Jesus and follow His words to the glory of your name. For we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.