Matthew 5:1-48
The Sermon on the Mount
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Luke 9:47-48
The Least Will Become Greatest
47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest."
Matthew 20:14-16
The Last Will Be First
14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Matthews chapter's five, six, and seven are Jesus' Great Sermon on the Mount...
Jesus, I believe, got the crowd's attention when we preached His Sermon on the Mount...This was maybe His first Sermon and it would set the tone for His ministry...The listeners at the time may have been thinking what they were listening to as He ministered to them about the less, the least, and the lost...Jesus' earliest followers at the time might very much related to these verses...For Jesus ministry would be one of helping the least and those lost...He knew about being poor, growing up as He did...And as we read the gospels we see that He has always been helping the last, the lost, and the least, while knowing the first and those of power were looking out for themselves...
In Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount they are hard...At the end of this chapter, we are told to be perfect like God is perfect...That is God's Standard...God is Perfection...One sin and we miss perfection...One sin and we miss His Standard...But throughout the Sermon there are many interesting teachings about God...Jesus tells us we are blessed when we are poor in spirit, we are blessed when we mourn, we are blessed when we are meek, we are blessed when we search for righteousness, we are blessed when we pure in heart, we are blessed when are seeking peace among others, we are blessed when we get persecuted, and blessed when we insulted for following Him...And then He says and teaches us never to be angry with a brother or sister, don't lust, don't get a divorce without circumstances involved, don't take hallow oaths, don't retaliate against others when they wrong you, love your enemies (don't hate them -anyone can do that), but be perfect as our Heavenly Father is Perfect...Jesus is telling us how to be a follower of His...The cost is great and it is very hard...Yet, in His Words there is this Great Hope of Another World, one that is much different from this one...
Each of us have favorite bible verses we care for...And some verses we care for more than other verses...Along these lines, C. S. Lewis said this about the Sermon on Mount..."As to ‘caring for’ the Sermon on the Mount, if ‘caring for’ here means ‘liking’ or enjoying, I suppose no one ‘cares for’ it...Who can like being knocked flat on his face by a sledgehammer?...I can hardly imagine a more deadly spiritual condition than that of a man who can read that passage with tranquil pleasure."...I agree with Lewis, these are sledgehammer verses...And the Sermon gets my attention and keeps it...The verses show us how we on earth blur the Kingdom of God by the way we think and what we think of and by what is to be truly blessed...
If God is Perfect, wouldn't we expect His Son to teach us this?...And isn't the Sermon on the Mount just the kind of Sermon we would expect from the One God sent, if the Perfect God is on the side of the less, the least and the lost?...Who cannot love a God like that?...