The Jewish Rabbi and the Sermon on the Mount

The passage of Scripture that has become known as The Sermon on the Mount, many have proposed it was a view of the ideal conditions to be blessed by God. A new system of ethics presented by Jesus. Others have argued it was a manifesto for social reform. A call for a new society. These views are the seeing of the sermon with a Greek mind. It fails to see that the Rabbi Jesus was doing was no more, than giving a Rabbinic explanation, a deeper insight, to the Scriptures. What He was doing was called drash. This was a method of teaching similar to Hillel the Elder. However, Jesus does not refer to other sources to support His view, as was common. He Himself spoke with His own authority. It was His own Word that was being expounded. He was the Word made flesh. He was not rewriting Scripture, or giving a new law, He was showing the spiritual outworking of the Jewish Scripture. Understood this way, brings out a deeper understanding of God and His Son the Lord Jesus.

 It starts with how Matthew introduces the sermon:

Matthew 5:1 “And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain. And when He had sat down, His disciples came to Him.”

This would immediately open the eyes of Matthew’s Jewish readers. It echoes the Jewish journey in Sinai. Moses went up the mountain to receive God’s law and then brought it down to the people. Here Jesus goes up the mountain, not to bring a law down, but to act on His own authority to explain the Law. As Matthew writes when he closes the passage on the sermon:

 Matthew 7:28-29 “And it happened, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His doctrine. For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Whilst others would need to consult or refer to others, Jesus was His own authority with the right to make clear the meaning of texts. To do this was a deliberate and direct statement of who He was – The Son of God and author of the Law.

 The sermon was an exposition of the prophet Isaiah and His vision of the Messianic age to come. For example The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). Seen as a list of virtues if practised will lead to s better character can be made richer through the Rabbinic Jesus’ eyes. It brings a real pointer to the future Messianic age.  It is a reference to Isaiah 61.

 Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is on me, because Adonai has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of Adonai’s favour and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of Adonai, that He may be glorified.”

 As you can see Jesus is heralding the arrival of Messiah, who brings to the broken, the rich blessings of the Father. This can be confirmed when Jesus reads from Isaiah 61 and declares at the start fo His public ministry:

 Luke 4:21 “Then He began to tell them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.””

When we read Matthew 5:21-48, we see drash in action, when Jesus makes a series of contrasts. This is typical of Rabbinic chiddush which means - blessed is the person, who has words of Torah from his teaching encouraging more Torah learning They are introduced with, “ You have heard it was said”. The usual thing is then to refer to other Rabbis and the Torah itself. However, Jesus adds variations of, “But I tell you….”. Some would claim that this was Jesus changing the Law, in fact He was confirming the Law and bringing to it the spirit of what it meant.

 These examples bring this home;

 Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever commits murder shall be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca’ shall be subject to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be subject to fiery Gehenna.”

Here Jesus is not changing the Law. He is pointing to the origin of murder – anger. The solution Jesus gives is to deal with the anger and go and be reconciled the one who is the object of the anger.

 We find the same contrast and pointing to the root of sinful lust:

 Matthew 5:27-29 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away! It is better for you that one part of your body should be destroyed, than that your whole body be thrown into Gehenna.”

Agan, Jesus is not changing the Law regarding adultery, He is once more pointing to the cause that starts in the heart with lust. All truly great Rabbis were known for this understanding that brought the Law into focus and explain that the heart of the person was the true origin of rebellion. It was well recognised that Jesus was a greater teacher than all the Rabbis around Israel. This is stated plainly by Matthew:

 Matthew 7:28 “Now when Yeshua had finished these words, the crowds were astounded at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one having authority and not as their Torah scholars.”

 If we then consider what became known as the Our Father or The Lord’s Prayer. The latter a total misunderstanding of the prayer. Jesus had no sin that the Father had to forgive. Jesus spoke against the long prayers of the hypocrites and introduced a pattern of prayer. It was never intended to become a religious ritual. It starts with:

 Matthew 6: 9-10 “Therefore, pray in this way: ‘Our Father in heaven, sanctified be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven….”

 The Kaddish was a prayer for the dead in Jesus’ time. The opening line of that prayer reads ‘Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world
which He has created according to His will.’ You will notice the change Jesus’ introduces – Our Father. This brings home the difference between Jesus’ disciples and the hypocritical leaders of His day. He made this clear as to who their father was:

 John 8:44-45 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks lies he is just being himself—for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.”

 In the prayer for daily bread would echo the provision of Manna in the wilderness. (Exodus 16) The other prayer of that time was the Amidah, which was prayed while standing and asking for blessings. In this Jesus was drawing on the Jewish heritage but again, was increasing its power and direction to God the Father as the Great Yahweh Yirah - God the provider.In the sermon, we also see the references to salt and light. Again, this is also steeped in the Jewish understanding. Salt was seen as relating to covenant.

Numbers 18:19 “Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings which Bnei-Yisrael present to Adonai, I have given to you, your sons and your daughters with you as a permanent share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before Adonai for you and your offspring.”

 Leviticus 2:13 “Also you are to season with salt every sacrifice of your grain offering. You are never to allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your sacrifices you must offer salt.”

Jesus’ hearers would understand salt as the sealing of the covenant of salt as the everlasting friendship with God. Jesus uses the idea of salt, which purified the offerings to be applied to the person. We too must be a purified people, a holy nation. They were to be a light to the nations:

Isaiah 42:6  “I, Adonai, called You in righteousness, I will take hold of Your hand, I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations..”

 Isaiah 49:6 “So He says, “It is too trifling a thing that You should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved ones of Israel. So I will give You as a light for the nations, that You should be My salvation to the end of the earth.”” 

Now the followers of Jesus the Messiah, were called to be that purified and holy people. They were to take up that command to reach the nations. Paul preaching to Gentiles said:

 Acts 13:47 “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed you as a light to the nations, so that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’” 

It is amazing that these disciples, many poor uneducated fishermen, were now seeing the greatness of the Father. They now carried the prophetic mission which Jesus would give them before He left the earth.

 I trust this study will show you that Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount was not placing a heavy burden of legalism to reach great ethical heights. He was throwing light on the Jewish history that led to Him as their Teacher and Saviour. He was that Triune Godhead, who had given Israel it’s covenant and its Laws. Now He was showing the disciples, and us, how we are to continue His work of making Disciples;

 Matthew 28:18-20 “And Yeshua came up to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

 Let us accept the challenge and go as the Master Teacher said!