The Sermon on the Mountainside
The sermon on the mountainside pronounced by Jesus is viewed as the primary guide and description of discipleship, applicable to all Christians. Early church fathers used these texts for disputing Christian participation in Roman military prior to Constantine, commentary writing, and bringing civil and spiritual order among the community. Literal translations among many denominations have brought a monastic lifestyle, passivism, and a search for higher spirituality. While these issues are debated among scholars and laypeople alike, there is another problem that is stirring in my soul.
This sermon enjoins individual morality for the disciple in the inner and private life. Often, Christians breeze pass the intentional truths said by Jesus due to the “impossible ideal” theory. The high ethical vision the sermon proclaims bring many to their knees praying for forgiveness. The bar is set too high for one to reach many attest. The shadow of God’s grace is beyond one’s grasp when pursuing a righteousness that can never be attained.
The hard sayings of Jesus were not meant to be taken literal. They were practical ways to observe God’s will and be delivered from the oppression of sin. People who wanted to participate in the Kingdom of God took these ideals as a way to get closer to God, not as a spiritual yardstick.
The good news of Jesus is to restore sinners to a holy and righteous God. The restoration process is filled with grace, not condemnation. The Sermon on the Mount was a Discipleship 101 class that urbanized the disciples into radicals. The disciples were called to embody the transforming power of God’s Reign. Disciples today need to explore creative alternatives rather than knee-jerk reactions to the world. This is where the sermon on the mountainside belongs.
Paid in Full
This sermon enjoins individual morality for the disciple in the inner and private life. Often, Christians breeze pass the intentional truths said by Jesus due to the “impossible ideal” theory. The high ethical vision the sermon proclaims bring many to their knees praying for forgiveness. The bar is set too high for one to reach many attest. The shadow of God’s grace is beyond one’s grasp when pursuing a righteousness that can never be attained.
The hard sayings of Jesus were not meant to be taken literal. They were practical ways to observe God’s will and be delivered from the oppression of sin. People who wanted to participate in the Kingdom of God took these ideals as a way to get closer to God, not as a spiritual yardstick.
The good news of Jesus is to restore sinners to a holy and righteous God. The restoration process is filled with grace, not condemnation. The Sermon on the Mount was a Discipleship 101 class that urbanized the disciples into radicals. The disciples were called to embody the transforming power of God’s Reign. Disciples today need to explore creative alternatives rather than knee-jerk reactions to the world. This is where the sermon on the mountainside belongs.
Paid in Full
Would you not say that the early disciples understanding of the Sermon on the Mount is borne out of their desire to attain to these higher spiritual ideals? I do not believe they were simply responding to a literal word for word understanding of Jesus' teachings.
I guess I am confused a bit by what you meant. Hopefully it will become clearer to me as I ponder what you have written.
Posted by
Dustin |
8:22 PM
that's what he is saying, that they did NOT take it as literal, but they were desiring to transform themselves into what Jesus was calling them.
Posted by
Anonymous |
7:57 AM
I took it as people today misunderstanding the ideals as legalistic or unable to acheive. The disciples did not take them as literal, but Christian today do.
Posted by
Anonymous |
12:19 PM