Absolute Authority
The Sermon on the Mount is NOT a program for reforming civil society, implementing economic justice, or a perfect society. Instead, it provides clear instructions for how his disciples must live in the present age as faithful citizens and envoys of HIS kingdom. His teachings are NOT optional. To stress the point, Jesus concluded his sermon with a stern warning. To modify, compromise, or ignore his words will result in everlasting destruction for the offender.
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On the day when his disciples appear before him, many individuals who performed great deeds in his name will nevertheless be rejected and driven from his presence.
- (Matthew 7:21-23) - “Not every man that says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of the heavens, but he that is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name did many works of power? And then will I confess to them: Never have I acknowledged you! Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness!”
Jesus does
not classify those he rejects as pagans or especially immoral sinners. They even
call him “Lord.” They prophesied, exorcised demons, and did many other
mighty deeds in his name. The emphasis is on the term “many” - the “many” things they
did in his name since the warning is not just applicable to a tiny minority of
disobedient believers.
Jesus does
not call their miracles counterfeits. The problem is something deeper than the
ability to perform miraculous signs. And here, not only does he not acknowledge
them as belonging to him, but he also describes them as “workers of
lawlessness.”
On the day
when he judges his own, he
will command these men and women to “depart.” Elsewhere, he warns of a
coming day when his opponents will be “cast into outer darkness, where they
will be wailing and gnashing of teeth!”
Fortunately,
Jesus provides us with an explanation for how some disciples became such “workers
of lawlessness.”
- (Matthew 7:24-27) - “Therefore, everyone who hears my words, these ones, and does them will be likened to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and rushed against that house, and it fell not; for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these my words and does them not will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the streams came, and the winds blew and lashed against that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.”
FAILURE TO HEED HIS WORDS
The man
who hears and does his
words is like the “prudent” builder who constructed his house on a rock-solid foundation. In Luke’s version, the
man is quite thorough – “He is like a man building a house who dug and
deepened and laid a foundation upon the rock” – (Luke 6:48).
The Greek word
rendered “prudent” or phronimos indicates someone who is
thoughtful, intelligent, attentive, and astute. This term is the origin of the
English noun ‘phronesis,’ and it refers to wisdom in determining goals and how
to achieve them.
In contrast,
the man who fails to heed his words is compared to the foolish man who built his
house on a foundation of sand. The Greek term rendered “foolish” is môros
from which the English word ‘moron’ is derived. It denotes one who is dull,
witless, unthinking, and heedless.
What
determines if a man enters the Kingdom is whether he heeds the words of Jesus.
It is the man who does them who is “prudent” and therefore rewarded on
the day when it matters the most.
HIS WORDS
But which of
his “words” does Jesus mean? At the outset of his sermon, he declared
that he did not come to discard the “Law and the Prophets,” but to “fulfill”
them. The Pharisees were renowned for their scrupulous
observation of the Law, including the added oral traditions that went well
beyond the Law’s requirements. Nevertheless, their meticulous law-keeping WAs insufficient for entrance into the kingdom.
Jesus did not come simply
to renew the Torah. Something more was needed.
In his concluding remarks, the “words” that must be heeded are the ones declared by him in his Sermon on the Mount; all of them, without exception.
Anyone who
desires to enter his Kingdom must live a life characterized by humility, hunger
for righteousness, mercy, a pure heart, the avoidance of retaliation,
peacemaking, honest communications, and a willingness to endure unjust
suffering for his sake - (Matthew
5:3-12).
HIS disciple must
be a light shining in a dark world. Not only is he forbidden to kill, but he must
not harbor any anger towards another man. Instead, reconciliation with the offended
party is his top priority - (Matthew
5:13-26).
The disciple
must not lust after someone who is not his spouse. He must keep a lifelong
commitment to his wife. Rather than swear oaths, he should speak plainly with
true words - Let your “yea be yea, and nay, nay” - (Matthew 5:27-37).
To inherit
the Kingdom, it is necessary to eschew retaliation and violence. HIS
disciple is summoned to love, pray for, and do good to his “enemy.” By showing
mercy to his foes, he will emulate
God and become “complete”
just as the “Father in the heavens” - (Matthew 5:44-48).
NO LOOPHOLES
The man or
woman who seeks loopholes in his words does not have the mind of a disciple and
risks rejection by Jesus along with the other “lawless” men.
HIS disciple must
not do works of righteousness to attain the applause of others. Hypocrisy is incompatible with discipleship.
The disciple must center his life on the “Kingdom of God” and “lay up
treasures in heaven” rather than in the present evil age. As an heir of the
kingdom, he “cannot serve two masters.” His allegiance to Jesus must be
absolute - (Matthew 6:1-24).
The disciple
of the Nazarene must not judge or condemn others. Judgment is the prerogative
of God alone. Instead, he should treat others as he wishes to be treated. In this
way, he will “fulfill the law and the prophets.” He must stay on the
narrow path and avoid the popular and “broad” roads of this age - (Matthew 7:1-6, 7:7-20).
Much is at
stake in how we respond to the words of the Master. Men who do not heed and do
them will be rejected. Therefore, it is unwise to ignore his words, choose
which ones we will obey, or create
loopholes TO avoid his commandments.
The Sermon
on the Mount is an “instruction manual” for
how his disciples are to live regardless of the values, demands, and
expectations of the surrounding society.
Following
his teachings is not easy. In places, his words are quite challenging, and many
theologians, pastors, and Bible students have worked diligently to domesticate his
more troubling sayings.
By
claiming that “only he who hears these words of mine and does them will
enter the Kingdom,” Jesus places ultimate authority in his teachings, an authority
that exceeds even the “Law” and the “Prophets.” We ignore,
modify, twist, and disobey his words at our very great peril.
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